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THE 



ILIAD 



OF 



HOMER. 






DE l' I MP RIMER IE DE CORDIER. 



THE ILIAD 






OF 



HOMER 



TRANSLATED FROM THE GREEK 



ALEXANDER POPE , ESQ. 



Rend Homer once, and you can read no more , 
For all things else appear so mean and poor , 
Verse will seem prose ; yet often on h*m look , 
And you will hardly need another book. 

Bl'CK. INGHAM. 




PARIS 

BAUDRY'S EUROPEAN LIBRARY 

3, QUAI MALAQUAIS, ON THE FIRST FLOOR 




1852 

Printed by Crapelet , rue de Vangirard 9 



.Pi* 






387270 
'29 



~» 



A SKETCH 

OF POPE'S LIFE. 



Alexander Pope was torn in London f 
May 22, 1688. His father was a linen-draper in 
the Strand. Both parents were catholic. 

Pope was from his birth of a constitution ten- 
der and delicate 5 hut is said to have shown re- 
markable gentleness and swiftness of disposition. 
The weakness of his body continued through his 
life; but the mildness of his mind perhaps ended 
with his childhood. His . voi#e , -when he was 
young , was so pleasing, that he was called in 
fondness, the little Nightingale. 

Not being sent early to school , he was taught 
to read by an aunt ; and when he was seven or 
eight years old , became a lo\er of books. He first 
learned to write by imitating printed books , a 
species of penmanship in which he retained great 
excellence through his whole life , though his or- 
dinary hand was not elegant. 

When he was about eight, he was placed in 
Hampshire , under Taverner, a Romish priest , 
who, by a method very rarely practised , taught 
him the greek and latin rudiments together. He was 



V] A SKETCH 

now first regularly initiated in poetry by the pern* 
sal of Ogilby's Homer, and Sandys' Ovid. Ogilby's 
assistance lie never repaid with any praise : but 
of Sandys he declared, in his notes to the Iliad, 
that English poetry owed much of its beauty to 
his translations. Sandys very rarely attempted ori- 
ginal composition. 

About the time of the Revolution, his father, 
who was^undoubtedly disappointed by the sud- 
den blast of Popish prosperity, quitted his trade , 
and retired to Binfield in "Windsor Forest , with 
about twenty thousand pounds ; for which , con- 
scientiously determined not to entrust it to the 
government , he found no better use than that of 
locking it up in a chest, and taking from it what 
his expences required ; and his life was long 
enough to consume a great part of it , before his 
son came to the inheritance. 

To Binfield Pope was called by his father when 
he was about twelve years old, and there he had 
for a few months the assistance of one Deane , 
another priest, of whom he learned only to con- 
strue a little of Tully's Offices. How M r Deane 
could spend , with a boy who had translated so 
much of Ovid, some months over a small part of 
Tully's Offices, it is now vain to inquire. 

Of a youth so successfully employed , and so 
conspicuously improved , a minute account must 
be naturally desired 5 but curiosity must be con- 
tented with confused, imperfect, and, sometimes, 
improbable intelligence. Pope, finding little ad- 
vantage from external help , resolved thencefor- 
ward to direct himself 5 and at twelve formed a 



of pope's LIFE. VI] 

plan of study, which lie completed with little 
other incitement tlian the desire of excellence. 

His primary and principal purpose was to be a 
poet, with which his father accidentally concurred 
by proposing subjects, and obliging him to correct 
his performances by many revisals ; after which 
the old gentleman , when he was satisfied, would 
say : cc These are good rhymes. » 

In his perusal of the English poets he soon dis- 
tinguished the versification ofDryden, which he 
considered as the model to be studied, and was 
impressed with such veneration for his instruc- 
tor, that he persuaded some friends to take him to 
the coffee-house which Dryden frequented , and 
pleased himself with having seen him. 

Dryden died May i, 1701 , some days before 
Pope was twelve 5 so early must he therefore have 
felt the power of harmony, and the zeal of genius. 
Who does not wish that Dryden could have 
known the value of the hommage that was paid 
him, and foreseen the greatness of his young 
admirer! 

Next year he was desirous of opening to him- 
self new sources of knowledge , bv making him- 
self acquainted with modern languages $ and re- 
moved for a time to London , that he might study 
french and italian, which, as he desired nothing 
more than to read them, were by diligent appli- 
cation soon despatched. Of italian learning he 
does not appear to have ever made mucji use in 
his subsequent studies. 

He then returned to Binfield, and delighted 
himself with his own poetry. He tried all styles, 



\llj A SKETCH 

and many subjects. He wrote a comedy , a tra- 
gedy, an epick poem , with panegyricks on all the 
princes of Europe; and, as he confesses , thought 
himself the greatest genius that ever was. Self 
confidence is the first requisite to great undertak- 
ings. He, indeed, who forms his opinion of 
himself in solitude, without knowing the powers 
of other men, is very liable to error; but it 
was the felicity of Pope to rate himself at his 
real value. 

In 1713, he resolved to try how far the favour 
of the public extended, by soliciting a subscrip- 
tion to a version of the Iliad, with large notes. 

To print by subscription was , for some time , a 
practise peculiar to the English. The first consi- 
derable work , for which this expedient was em- 
ployed, is said to have been Dryden's Yirgil ; and 
it had been tried again with great success when 
the Tattlers were collected into volumes. 

There was reason to believe that Pope's at- 
tempt would be successful. He was then in the 
full bloom of reputation , and was personally 
known to almost all whom dignity of employment 
or splendour of reputation had made eminent 5 
he conversed indifferently with parties , and ne- 
ver disturbed the public with his political opi- 
nions 5 and it might be naturally expected , as 
each faction then boasted its literary zeal , that 
the great men, who on other occasions prac- 
tised all the violence of opposition , would emu- 
late each other in their encouragement of a poet 
who delighted all 1 and by whom none had been 
offended. 



of pope's LIFE* XX 



With those hopes, he offered an English Iliad 
to subscribers , in six volumes quarto , for six 
guineas ; a sum , according to the value of money 
at that time , by no means inconsiderable , and 
greater than I believe to have been e er asked 
before. His proposal , however, was very favour- 
ably received; and the patrons of literature were 
busy to recommend his undertaking, and promote 
his interest. Lord Oxford, indeed, lamented that 
such a genius should be wasted upon a work not 
original 5 but proposed no means by which he 
might live without it. Addison recommended 
caution and moderation , and advised him not 
to be content with the praise of half the na- 
tion , when he might be universally favoured. 

By the success of his subscription Pope was re- 
lieved from those pecuniary distresses, with which, 
notwithstanding his popularity, he had hitherto 
struggled. Lord Oxford had often lamented his 
disqualification for public employment , but never 
proposed a pension. While the translation of 
Homer was in its progress, M r Craggs, then Secre- 
tary of State , offered to procure him a pension y 
which , at least during his ministry , must be 
enjoyed with secrecy. This was not accepted by 
Pope , who told him , however, that if he should 
be pressed with want of money, he would send to 
him for occasional supplies. Craggs was not long 
in power , and was never solicited for money 
by Pope, who disdained to beg what he did not 
want. 

With the product of this subscription , which 
he had too much discretion to squander, he se- 



X A SKETCH 

curred his future life from want , by considerable 
annuities. The estate of the Duke of Buckingham 
*was found to have been charged with five hun- 
dred pounds a year, payable to Pope , which 
doubtless bis translation enabled him to pur- 
chase. 

In 1715, being by the subscription enabled to 
live more by choice , having persuaded his father 
to sell their estate at Binfield , he purchased , I 
think only for his life, that house at Twickenham, 
to which his residence afterwards procured so much 
celebration , and removed thither with his father 
and mother. 

Here he planted the vines and the quincunx 
which his verses mention 5 and being under the 
necessity of making a subterraneous passage to a 
garden on the other side of the road , he adorned 
it with fossile bodies, and dignified it with the 
title of a grotto , a place of silence and retreat y 
from which he endeavoured to persuade his friends 
and himself that cares and passions could be 
excluded. 

In this year his father died suddenly, in his 
seventy-fifth year, having passed twenty-nine years 
in privacy. He is not known but by the character 
which his son has given him. If the money with 
which he retired was all gotten by himself, he 
had traded very successfully in times when sudden 
riches were rarely attainable. 

Soon after the appearance of the Iliad, resolving 
not to let the general kindness cool, he published 
proposals for a translation of the Odyssey, in five 
volumes, for five guineas. He was willing, how- 



of pope's life. xj 

ever, now to have associates in liis labour, being 
either weary with toiling upon another's thoughts, 
or having heard , as Ruffhead relates , that Fenton 
and Broome had already begun the work , and 
liking better to have them confederates than 
rivals. 

Of the Odyssey Pope translated only twelve 
books $ the rest were the work of Broome and 
Fenton: the notes were written wholly by Broome, 
who was not over- liberally rewarded. The public 
was carefully kept ignorant of the several shares ; 
and an account was subjoined at the conclusion, 
which is now known not to be true. 

Not long after, Pope was returning home from 
a visit in a friend's coach , which , in passing a 
bridge , was overturned into the water 5 the 
windows were closed , and being unable to force 
them open , he was in danger of immediate 
death , when the postillion snatched him out by 
breaking the glass , of which the fragments cut 
two of his fingers in such a manner, that he lost 
their use. 

Voltaire , who was in England , sent him a let- 
ter of consolation. He had been entertained by 
Pope at his table , where he talked with so much 
grossness , that M rs Pope was driven from the 
room. Pope discovered , by a trick , that he was 
a spy for the court , and never considered him as 
a man worthy of confidence. 

In 1 732, he lost his mother, not by an unexpect- 
ed death , for she had lasted to the age of ninetv- 
three $ but she did not die unlamented. The filial 
piety of Pope was in the highest degree amiable 



XI] A SKETCH 

and exemplary 5 liis parents had the happiness of 
living till he was at the summit of poetical repu- 
tation , till he was at ease in his fortune , and 
without a rival in his fame , and found no dimi- 
nution ofliis respect or tenderness. "Whatever was 
his pride, to them he was obedient 5 and whatever 
was his irritability, to them he was gentle. Life has, 
among its soothing and quiet comforts , few things 
Letter to give than such a son. 

He lingered through 174^5 but perceived him- 
self, as he expresses it, going down the hill. He 
had for at least five years been afflicted with an 
asthma and other disorders, which his physicians 
were unable to relieve. Towards the end of his 
life he consulted D r Thomson , a man who had , 
by iarge promises and free censures of the common- 
practice q£ physic , forced himself up into sudden 
reputation. Thomson declared his distemper to 
be a dropsy, and evacuated part of the water by 
tincture of jalap $ but confessed that his belly did 
not subside. Thomson had many enemies, and 
Pope was persuaded to dismiss him. 

In May, 1744? his death was approaching 5 on 
the sixth , he was all day delirious , which he 
mentioned four days afterwards as a sufficient 
humiliation of the vanity of man ; he afterwards 
complained of seeing things as through a curtain , 
and in false colours 5 and, one day, in the pre- 
sence of Dodsley, asked what arm it was that 
came out from the wall ? He said that his great- 
est inconvenience was inability to think. 

Bolingbroke sometimes wept over him in this 
state of helpless decay 5 and being told by Spence , 



of pope's life. xiij 

tliat Pope, at the intermission of his delirious- 
ness , was always saying something kind either of 
his present or absent friends , and that his huma- 
nity seemed to have survived his understanding , 
answered : cc It has so. » And added : cc I never in 
my life knew a man that had so tender a heart 
for his particular friends, or more general friend- 
ship for mankind. » At another time he said : cc I 
have known Pope these thirty years , and value 

myself more in his friendship than His grief 

then suppressed his voice. 

He died in the evening of the thirtieth day of 
May, 1 744 7 so placidly, that the attendants did 
not discern the exact time of his expiration. He 
was buried at Twickenham , near his father and 
mother, where a monument has been erected to 
him by his commentator , the bishop of Glou- 
cester. 

The person of Pope is well known not to have 
been formed by the nicest model. He has , in his 
account of the Little Club, compared himself to a 
spider; and by another is described as protuberant 
behind and before. He is said to have been beau- 
tiful in his infancy 5 but he was of a constitution 
originally feeble and weak 5 and as bodies of a 
tender frame are easily distorted , his deformity 
was probably in part the effect of his application. 
His stature was so low, that , to bring him to a 
level with common tables , it was necessary to 
raise his seat. But his face was not displeasing ^ 
and his eyes were animated and vivid. 

By natural deformity or accidental distortion , 
his vital functions were so much disordered , that 



XlV A SKETCH 

his life was a long disease. His most frequent 
ailment was the headache , which he used to 
relieve hy inhaling the steam of coffee , which he 
very frequently required. 

Most of what can be told concerning his petty 
peculiarities was communicatad hy a female do- 
mestic of the Earl of Oxford , who knew him 
perhaps after the middle of life. He was then so 
weak as to stand in perpetual need of female 
attendance; extremely sensible of cold, so that 
he wore a kind of fur doublet , under a shirt of a 
very coarse warm linen with fine sleeves. "When 
he rose, he was invested in bodice made of stiff 
canvas , being scarcely able to hold himself erect 
till they were laced , and he then put on a flannel 
waistcoat. One side was contracted. His legs 
were so slender, that he enlarged their bulk 
with three pair of stockings , which were drawn 
on and off by the maid ; for he was not able to 
dress or undress himself; and neither went to hed 
nor rose without help. His weakness made it very 
difficult for him to be clean. 

His hair had fallen almost away 5 and he used 
to dine sometimes with Lord Oxford privately, 
in a velvet cap. His dress of ceremony was black, 
with a tie-wig , and a little sword. 

The indulgence and accommodation which 
his sickness required , had taught him all the 
unpleasing and unsocial qualities of a valetu- 
dinary man. He expected that every thing should 
give way to his ease or humour 5 as a child , 
whose parents will not hear her cry , has an 
unresisted dominion in the nursery. When he 



OF POPE'S LIFE. XV 

wanted to sleep , he nodded in company 5 and 
once slumbered at his own table while the Prince 
of Wales was talking of poetry. 

He had another fault , easily incident to those 
who suffering much pain , think themselves 
entitled to what pleasures they can snatch. He 
was too indulgent to his appetite. He loved meat 
highly seasoned and of strong taste 5 and , at the 
intervals of the table , amused himself with bis- 
cuits and dry conserves. If he sat down to a va- 
riety of dishes , he would oppress his stomach 
with repletion 5 and though he seemed angry 
when a dram was offered him , did not forbear to 
drink it. His friends , who knew the avenues to 
his heart, pampered him with presents of luxury, 
which he did not suffer to stand neglected. The 
death of great men is not always proportioned to 
the lustre of their lives. Hannibal , says Juvenal , 
did not perish by the javelin or the sword 5 the 
slaughters of Cannae were revenged by a ring. 
The death of Pope was imputed , by some of his 
friends , to a silver saucepan in which it was his 
delight to heat potted lampreys. 

The religion in which he lived and died , was 
that of the Church of Rome , to which , in his 
correspondence with Racine , he professes himself 
a sincere adherent. 



THE END. 

Nota. The above sketch is extracted from Johnson'; 

LIVES OF THE ENGLISH POETS. 



THE ARGUMENT. 

The contention of Achilles and Agamemnon. 

IN the war of Troy, the Greeks having sacked some of the 
neighbouring towns, and taken from thence two beautiful cap- 
tives, Chryseis and Bryseis, allotted the first to Agamemnon, 
and the last to Achilles. Chryses, the father of Chryseis, and 
priest of Apollo, comes to the Grecian camp to ransom her : 
with which the action of the poem opens, in the tenth year of 
the siege. The priest being refused and insolently dismissed 
by Agamemnon, intreats for vengeance from his god, who 
inflicts a pestilence on the Greeks. Achilles calls a council, 
and encourages Calchas to declare the cause of it , who at- 
tributes it to the refusal of Chryseis. The king being obliged 
to send back his captive, enters into a furious contest with 
Achilles, which Nestor pacifies-, however, as he had the ab- 
solute command of the army, he seizes on Bryseis in revenge. 
Achilles in discontent withdraws himself and his forces from 
the rest of the Greeks; and, complaining to Thetis , she sup- 
plicates Jiij iter to render them sensible of the wrong done to 
her son, by giving victory to the Trojans. Jupiter granting 
her suit, incenses Juno, between whom the debate runs high, 
till they are reconciled by the address of Vulcan. 

The time of two and twenty days is taken up in this book ; 
nine during the plague, one in the council and quarrel of 
the princes, and twelve for Jupiter's stay with the Ethio- 
pians, at whose return Thetis prefers her petition. The scene 
lies in the Grecian camp, then changes to Chrysa, and 
lastly to the gods on Olympus. 



THE 

ILIAD. 

BOOR I. 

Achilles' wfam, to Greece the direful spring 

Of woes unnumber'd , heav'niy goddess, sing! 

That wrath which hurl'd to Pluto's gloomy reign 

The souls of mighty chiefs untimely slain; 

Whose Jimbs , unbury'd on the naked shore , 

Devouring dogs and hungry vultures tore ; 

Since great Achilles and Atrides s l rove , 

Such was the sov'reign doom , and such the will of Jove. 

Declare , O Muse ! in what ill-fated hour 
Sprung the fierce strife, from what offended pew'r ; 
Latona's son a dire contagion spread, 
And heap'd the camp with mountains of the dead *, 
The king of men his rev'rend priest defy'd, 
And for the king's offence the people dy'd. 

For Chryses sought with costly gifts to gain 
His captive daughter from the victor's -chain. 
Suppliant the venerable father stands ; 
Apollo's awful ensigns grace his hands : 
By these he begs ; and lowly bending down , 
Extends the sceptre and the laurel crown. 
He su'd to all , but chief implor'd for grace 
The brother kings of Atreus' royal race. 

« Ye kings and warriors! may your vows be crown'd. 
And Troy's proud walls lie level with the ground! 
May Jove restore you, when your toils are o'er, 
Safe to the pleasures of your native shore ! 
But , oh ! relieve a wretched parent's pain, 
And give Chryseis to these arms again; 
If mercy fail , yet let my presents move , 
And dread avenging Phoebus, son of Jove. » 

The Greeks in shouts their joint assent declare , 
The priest to rey'rence, and release the fair. 

1 



a homer's il tad. 

Not so Atrides ; he , with kingly pride , 
Repuls'd the sacred sire, and thus reply'd: 

« Hence, on thy life, and fly these hostile plains, 
Nor ask, presumptuous , what the king detains; 
Hence , with thy Jaurel crowirand golden rod , 
Nor trust too far those ensigns of thy god. 
Mine is thy daughter-, priest, and shall remain; 
And pray'rs , and tears , and hrihes shall plead in vain ; 
Till time shall rifle ev'ry youthful grace , 
And age dismiss her from my cold embrace, 
In daily labours of the loom employed , 
Or doom'd to deck the bed she once enjoy'd. 
Hence then , to Argos shall the maid retire , 
Far from her native soil and weeping sire. » 

The trembling priest along the shore retura'd> 
And in the anguish of a father mourn'd. 
Disconsolate, not daring to complain, 
Silent, he wander'd by the sounding main; 
Till, safe at distance, to his god he prays, 
The god who darts around the world his rays. 

« O Smintheus! sprung from fair Latona's line, 
Thou guardian pow'r of Cilia the divine , 
Thou source of light ! whom Tenedos adores , 
And whose bright presence gilds thy Chrysa's shores; 
If e'er with wreaths I hung thy sacred fane, 
Or fed the flames with fat of oxen slain ; 
God of the silver bow ! thy shafts employ, 
Avenge thy servant , and the Greeks destroy. » 

Thus Chryses pray'd : the fav'ring pow'r attends , 
And from Olympus' lofty tops descends. 
Bent was his bow the Grecian hearts to wound ; 
Fierce as he mov'd , his silver shafts resound. 
Breathing revenge , a sudden night he spread , 
And gloomy darkness roll'd around his head. 
The fleet in view , he twang' d his deadly bow ? 
And hissing fly the feather'd fates below. 
On mules and dogs th' infection first began ; 
And last the vengeful arrows fix'd in man. 
For nine long nights , thro' all the dusky air 
The pyres thick flaming shot a dismal glare* 
But ere the tenth revolving day was run , 
Inspir'd by Juno , Thetis' god-like son 



BOOK I. a 

Conven'd to council all the Grecian train; 
For much the goddess mourn'd her heroes slain. 

Th' assembly seated , rising o'er the rest , 
Achilles thus the king of men addrest : 

« Why leave we not the fatal Trojan shore , 
And measure back the seas we cross'd before ? 
The plague destroying whom the sword would spare , 
5 Tis time to save the few remains of war. 
But let some prophet , or some sacred sage , 
Explore the cause of great Apollo's rage ; 
Or learn the wasteful vengeance to remove , 
By mystic dreams , for dreams descend from Jove. 
If broken vows this heavy curse have laid , 
Let altars smoke , and hecatombs be paid. 
So heav'n aton'd shall dying Greece restore , 
And Phoebus dart his burning shafts no more. j> 

He said , and sat ; when Chalcas thus reply'd: 
Chalcas the wise , the Grecian priest and guide , 
That sacred seer, whose comprehensive view 
The past, the present, and the future knew : 
Uprising slow , the venerable sage 
Thus spoke the prudence and the fears of age i 

« Belov'd of J ove , Achilles', wouid'st thou know 
Why angry Phoebus bends his fatal bow \ 
First give thy faith , and plight a prince's word 
Of sure protection by thy pow'r and sword. 
For I must speak what wisdom would conceal , 
And truths, invidious to the great, reveal. 
Bold is the task , when subjects grown too wise , 
instruct a monarch where his error lies ; 
For tho' we deem the short-liv'd fury past , 
'Tis sure the mighty will revenge at last. » 

To whom Pelides : « From thy inmost soul 
Speak what thou kncw'st , and speak without controul ; 
Ev'n by that god I swear , who rules the day, 
To whom thy hands the vows of Greece convey , 
And whose blest oracies thy lips declare ; 
Long as Achilles breathes this vital air, 
No dariug Greek of all the num'rous band , 
Against his priest shall lift an impious hand : 
2S T ot ev'n the chief by whom our hosts are led, 
The king of kings, shall touch that sacred head. »> 



4 HOMErV ILIAD. 

Encourag'd thus, the blameless man replies^ 
« Nor vows unpaid , nor slighted sacrifice , 
But he, our chief, provok'd the raging pest, 
Apollo's vengeance for his injur' d priest ; 
JS T or will the god's awaken'd fury cease , 
But plagues shall spread ,. and fun'ral fires increase , 
Till the great king, without a ransom paid , 
To her own Chrysa send the black ey'd maid. 
Perhaps, with added sacrifice and pray'r, 
The priest may pardon , and the god may spare, v 

The prophet spoke ; when , with a gloomy frown, 
The monarch started from his shining throne; 
Black choler fill'd his breast that boil'd with ire, 
And from his eye-balls flash'd the living fire. 
« Augur accurst! denouncing mischief still , 
Prophet of plagues , for ever boding ill ! 
Still must that tongue some wounding message bring , 
And still thy priestly pride provoke thy king ; 
For this are Phoebus' oracles explor'd , 
To teach the Greeks to murmur at their lord; 
For this with falsehoods is my honour stain'd, 
Is heaven offended , and a priest profan'd ; 
Because my prize , my beauteous maid , I hold , 
And heav'nly charms prefer to proffer'd gold? 
A maid unmatch'd in manners as in face , 
Skill'd in each art , and crown'd with ev'ry grace. 
JS T ot half so dear were Clytemnestra's charms, 
When first her blooming beauties blest my arms. 
Yet if the gods demand her, let her sail; 
Our cares are only for the public weal: 
Let me be deem'd the hateful cause of all , 
And suffer, rather than my people fall. 
The prize , the beauteous prize , I will resign, 
So dearly valued ? and so justly mine. 
But since for common good I yield the fair, 
My private loss let grateful Greece repair ; 
Nor unrewarded let your prince complain , 
That he alone has fought and bled in vain. » 
« Insatiate king, ( Achilles thus replies, ) 
Fond of the pow'r, but fonder of the prize! 
Would'st thou the Greeks their lawful prey should yield , 
The due reward of many a well-fought field? 



BOOK I. 
The spoils of cities raz'd , and warriors slain, 
We share with justice , as with toil we gain ; 
But to resume whatever thy av'rice craves , 
( That trick of tyrants ) may be borne by slaves. 
Yet if our chief for plunder only fight ; 
The spoils of Ilion shall thy loss requite , 
Whene'er by Jove's decree , our conqu'ring pow'rs 
Shall humble to the dust her lofty tow'rs. » 

Then thus the king : « Shall I my prize resign , 
With tame content, and thou possest of thine ? 
Great as thou art , and like a god in fight, 
Think not to rob me of a soldier's right. 
At thy demand shall I restore the maid ? 
First let the just equivalent be paid; 
Such as a king might ask ; and let it be 
A treasure worthy her, and worthy me. 
Or grant me this , or with a monarch's claim 
This hand shall seize some other captive dame. 
The mighty Ajax shall his prize resign, 
Ulysses' spoils, or ev'n thy own be mine. 
The man who suffers , loudly may complain ; 
And rage he may, but he shall rage in vain. 
But this when time requires — It now remains 
We launch a bark to plow the wat'ry plains , 
And waft the sacrifice to Chrysa's shores , 
With chosen pilots , and with lab'ring oars. 
Soon shall the fair the sable ship ascend , 
And some deputed prince the charge attend ; 
This Creta's king or Ajax shall fulfil, 
Or wise Ulysses see perform'd our will ; 
Or if our royal pleasure shall ordain , 
Achilles' self conduct her o'er the main; 
Let fierce Achilles , dreadful in his rage, 
The god propitiate , and the pest assuage. » 

At this Pelides , frowning stern reply 'd : 
« O tyrant, arm'd with insolence and pride ! 
Inglorious slave to int'rest ever join'd 
With fraud , unworthy of a royal mind ! 
What gen'rous Greek , obedient to thy word . 
Shall form an ambush , or shall lift the sword ' 
What cause have I to war at thy decree? 
The distant Trojans never injur'd me : 



HOMER'S ILIAD. 

To Phthia's realms no hostile troops they led ; 

Safe in her vales my warlike coursers fed ; 

Far hence remov'd, the horse- resounding main , 

And walls of rocks , secure my native reign ; 

Whose fruitful soil luxuriant harvests grace , 

Rich in her fruits and in her martial race. 

Hither we sail'd , a voluntary throng , 

T' avenge a private , not a public wrong : 

What else to Troy th' assembled nations draws , 

But thine, ungrateful , and thy brother's cause? 

Is this the pay our blood and toils deserve , 

Disgrac'd and injui'd by the man we serve? 

And dar'st thou threat to snatch my prize away, 

Due to the deeds of many a dreadful da}^ ? 

A prize as small. O tyrant ! matched with thine , 

As thy own actions if cornpar'd to mine. 

Thine in each conquest is the wealthy prey, 

Tho' mine the sweat and danger of the day. 

Some trivial present to my ships I bear, 

Or barren praises pay the wounds of war. 

But know, proud monarch , I'm thy slave no more ; 

Mj fleet shall waft me to Thessalia's shore. 

Left by Achilles on the Trojan plain, 

What spoils, what conquests , shall Atrides gain? » 

To this the king : « Fly, mightj^ warrior I fly *, 
Thy aid we need not, and thy threats defy. 
There want not chiefs in such a cause to fight , 
And Jove himself shall guard a monarch's right. 
Of all the kings , the gods distinguish'd care , 
To pow'r superior none such hatred bear : 
Strife and debate thy restless soul employ, 
And wars and horrors are thy savage joy. 
If thou hast strength , 'twas heav'n that strength bestowed , 
For know, vain man ! thy valour is from god. 
Haste , launch thy vessels , fly with speed away, 
Rule thy own realms with arbitrary sway : 

1 heed thee not , but prize at equal rate 

Thy short-liv'd friendship , and thy groundless hate, 
Co, threat thy earth-born Myrmidons; but here 
'Tis mine to threaten, prince, and thine to fear, 
Know, if the god the beauteous dame demand ? 
My bark shall waft her to her native land*, 



BOOK I. 7 

But then prepare , imperious prince ! prepare , 
Fierce as thou art, to yield thy captive fair : 
EVii in thy tent I'll seize the blooming prize , 
Thy lov'd Briseis with the radiant eyes. 
Hence shalt thou prove my might , and curse the hour 
Thou stood'st a rival of imperial pow'r ; 
And hence to all our hosts it shall be known 
That kings are subject to the god's alone. » 

Achilles heard , with grief and rage opprest , . 
His heart swell'd high , and labour'd in his breast. 
Distracting thoughts by turns his bosom rul'd , 
Now fir'd by wrath , and now by reason cool'd : 
That prompts his hand to draw the deadly sword , 
Force thro' the Greeks , and pierce their haughty lord : 
This whispers soft , his vengeance to control , 
And calm the rising tempest of his soul. 
Just as in anguish of suspence he stay'd , 
While half-unsheath'd appear'd the glitt'ring blade, 
Minerva swift descended from above , 
Sent by the sister * and the wife of Jove ; 
For both the princes claim'd her equal care ; 
Behind she stood , and by the golden hair 
Achilles seiz'd ; to him alone confest ; 
A sable cloud conceal'd her from the rest. 
He sees , and sudden to the goddess cries , 
Known by the flames that sparkle from her e3 r es. 

« Descends Minerva , in her guardian care , 
A heav'nly witness of the wrongs I bear 
From Atreus' son ? Then let those eyes that view 
The daring crime behold the vengeance too. » 

« Forbear ! (the progeny of Jove replies) 5 
To calm thy fury I forsake the skies : 
Let great Achilles , to the gods resign'd , 
To reason yield the empire o'er his mind. 
By awful Juno this command is giv'n ; 
The king and you are both the care of heav'n. 
The force of keen reproaches let him feel , 
But sheath , obedient, thy revenging steel. 
Fori pronounce , and trust a heav'nly pow'r, 
Thy injur'd honour has its fated hour, 

* Jirao. 



8 HOMERS ILIAD. 

When the proud monarch shall thy arms implore r 
And hribe thy friendship with a boundless store* 
Then let revenge no longer bear the sway , 
Command thy passions, and the gods obey. » 

To her Pelides : c< With regardful ear , 
'Tis just, O goddess ! I thy dictates hear. 
Hard as it is , my vengeance I suppress : 
Those who revere the gods, the gods will bless. » 
He said , observant of the blue-ey'd maid ; 
Then in the sheath returned the shining blade. 
The goddess swift to high Olympus flies , 
And joins the sacred senate of the skies. 

3\or yet the rage his boiling breast forsook y 
Which thus redoubling on Atrides broke. 
«< O monster ! mix'd of insolence and fear ; 
Thou dog in forehead , but in heart a deer ! 
When wei t thou known in ambush'd fights to dare , 
Or nobly face the horrid front of war 'I 
'Tis our's the chance of fighting fields to try, 
Thine to look on , and bid the valiant die. 
So much 'tis safer thro' the camp to go , 
And rob a subject , than despoil a foe. 
Scourge of thy people, violent and base! 
Sent in Jove's anger, on a slavish race , 
Who, lost to sense of gen'rous freedom past, 
Are tam'd to wrongs , or this had been thy last. 
Now by this sacred sceptre , hear me swear, 
Which never more shall leaves or blossoms tear, 
Which sever'd from the trunk , as I from thee, 
On the bare mountains left its parent tree ; 
This sceptre , form'd by temper'd steel to prove 
An ensign of the delegates of Jove , 
From whom the pow'r of laws and justice springs : 
Tremendous oath ! inviolate to kings : 
By this i swear, when bleeding Greece again 
Shall call Achilles , she shall call in vain. 
When flush'd with slaughter, Hector comes to spread 
The purpled shore with mountains of the dead, 
Then shalt thou mourn th' affront thy madness gave, 
.Forc'd to deplore , when impotent to save ; 
Then rage in bitterness of soul , to know 
This act has made the brayest Greek thy foe. « 



BOOK I. 9 

He spoke ; and furious hurl'd against the ground 
His sceptre starr'd with golden studs around. 
Then sternly silent sat. With like disdain r 
The raging king return'd his frowns again ! 

To calm their passion with the words of age , 
Slow from his seat arose the Pylian sage , 
Experienc'd Nestor, in persuasion skill'd , 
Words , sweet as honey, from his lips distill'd ; 
Two generations now had past away, 
Wise by his rules , and happy by his sway ; 
Two ages o'er his native realm he reign'd , 
And now th' example of the third remain'd : 
All view'd with awe the venerable man; 
Who thus , with mild benevolence , began : 

« W T hat shame , what woe is this to Greece ! what joy 
To Troy's proud monarch , and the friends of Troy ! 
That adverse gods commit to stern debate 
The best , the bravest of the Grecian state. 
Young as ye are , this youthful heat restrain , 
Nor think your Nestor's years and wisdom vain. 
A godlike race of heroes once I knew, 
Such as no more these aged eyes shall view I 
Lives there a chief to match Pirithous' fame ? 
Dryas the bold , or Ceneus' deathless name ; 
Theseus , endu'd with more than mortal might , 
Or Polyphemus , like the gods in fight? 
With these of old to toils of battle bred, 
In early youth ray hardy days I led j 
Fir'd with the thirst which virtuous envy breeds ? 
And smit with love of honourable deeds. 
Strongest of men, they pierc'd the mountain-boar , 
Kang'd the wild deserts red with monsters gore , 
And from their hills the shaggy Centaurs tore : 
Yet these with soft persuasive arts I sway'd ; 
When Nestor spoke , they listen'd and obey'd. 
If in my youth , ev'n they esteem'd me wise , 
Do you , young warriors , hear my age advise : 
Atrides , seize not on the beauteous slave ; 
That prize the Greeks by common suffrage gave : 
Nor thou, Achilles , treat our prince with pride : 
Let kings be just , and sov'reign pow'r preside. 



i a homer's iliad* 

Thee 5 the first honours of the war adorn, 
Like gods in strength , and of a goddess born : 
Him, awful majesty exalts above 
The pow'rs of earth , and scepter'd sons of Jove. 
Let both unite with well-consenting mind , 
So shall authority with strength be join'd. 
Leave me, O king ! to calm Achilles' rage ; 
Rule thou thyself, as more advane'd in age. 
Forbid it, gods ! Achilles should be lost, 
The pride of Greece , and bulwark of our host, » 

This said , he ceas'd : The king of men replies 
« Thy years are awful, and thy words are wise. 
But that imperious , that unconquer'd soul , 
INo laws can limit, no respect controul. 
Before his pride must his superiors fall , 
His word the law, and he the lord of all ? 
Him must our hosts , our chiefs , ourself obey 7 . 
What king can bear a rival in his swaj 7 ? 
Grant that the gods his matchless force has giv'n ; 
Has foul reproach a privilege from heav'n? » 

Here on the monarch's speech Achilles broke , 
And furious , thus , and interrupting spoke : 
« Tyrant, I well deserv'd thy galling chain, 
To live thy slave , and still to serve in vain, 
Should I submit to each unjust decree : 
Command thy vassals , but command not me. 
Seize on Briseis', whom the Grecians doom'd 
My prize of war, yet tamely see resum'd , 
And seize secure; no more Achilles draws 
His conquering sword in any woman's cause. 
The gods command me to forgive the past *, 
But let this first invasion be the last : 
For know, thy blood, when next thou dar'st invade^ 
Shall stream in vengeance on my reeking blade. » 

At this they ceas'd 5 the stern debate expir'd j 
The chiefs in sullen majesty retir'd. 

Achilles with Patroclus took his way, 
Where near the tents his hollow vessels lay. 
Meantime Atrides launch'd with num'rous oars 
A well-r'gg'd ship from Crysa's sacred shores : 
High on the deck was fair Chryseis plac'd. 
And rage Ulysses with the conduct grae'd : 



BOOK I. 11 

Safe in her sides Ihe hecatomb they stowM, 
Then swiftly sailing , cut the liquid road. 

The host to expiate , next the king prepares , 
With pure lustrations, and with solemn pray'rs. 
Wash'd by the briny wave , the pious train 
Are cieans'd ; and cast the ablutions in the main. 
Along the shore whole hecatombs were laid , 
And bulls and goats to Phoebus' altars paid. 
The sable fumes in curling spires arise , 
And waft their grateful odours to the skies. 

The army thus in sacred rites engag'd , 
Atrides still with deep resentment rag'd. 
To wait his will two sacred heralds stood , 
Talthybius and Eurybates the good. 
« Haste to the fierce Achilles' tent, (he cries,) 
Thence bear Briseis as our royal prize : 
Submit he niusi*, or if they will not part, 
Ourself in arms shall tear her from his heart. » 

Th' unwilling heralds act their lord's commands : 
Pensive they walk along the barren sands : 
Arriv'd , the hero in his tent they find , 
With gloomy aspect, on his arm reclin'd. 
At awful distance long they silent stand, 
Loth to advance , or speak their hard command > 
Decent confusiou ! This the godlike man 
Perceiv'd, and thus with accent mild began. 

« With leave arid honour enter our abodes , 
Ye sacred ministers of men and gods ! 
I know your message ; by constraint you came : 
Not you , but your imperious lord I blame. 
Patrocius , haste , the fair Briseis bring ; 
Conduct my captive to the haughty king. 
But witness , heralds , and proclaim my vow, 
Witness to gods above, and men below ! 
But first v and loudest , to your prince declare , 
That lawless tyrant whose commands you bear *, 
Unmov'd as death Achilles shall remain , 
Tho' prostrate Greece should bleed at ev'ry vein : 
The raging chief in frantic passion lost, 
Blind to himself, and useless to his host, 
Unskill'd to judge the future by the past, 
In blood and slaughter shall repent at last. » 



12. 

Patroclus now th' unwilling beauty brought ; 
She , in soft sorrows , and in pensive thought , 
Past silent , as the heralds held her hand , 
And oft look'd back , slow-moving o'er the strand. 

Not so his loss the fierce Achilles bore ; 
But sad retiring to the sounding shore , 
O'er the wild margin of the deep he hung , 
That kindred deep from whence his mother sprung : 
There , bath'd in tears of anger and disdain , 
Thus loud lamented to the stormy main. 

a O parent goddess >! since in early bloom , 
Thy son must fall by too severe a doom ; 
Sure , to so short a race of glory born , 
Great Jove in justice should this span adorn : 
Honour and fame at least the thund'rer ow'd , 
And ill he pays the promise of a god ; 
If yon proud monarch thus thy son defies , 
Obscures my glories, and resumes my prize. » 

Far in the deep recesses of the main , 
Where aged Ocean holds his wat'ry reign , 
The goddess-mother heard. The waves divide; 
And like a mist she rose above the tide ; 
Beheld him mourning on the naked shores, 
And thus the sorrows of his soul explores : 
« Why grieves my son? Thy anguish let me share. 
Reveal the cause , and trust a parent's care. » 

He , deeply sighing , said : « To tell my woe , 
Is but to mention what too well you know. 
From Thebe, sacred to Apollo's name, 
Action's realms, our conqu'ring army came, 
With treasure loaded and triumphant spoils , 
W^hose just division crown'd the soldier's toils; 
But bright Chryseis , heav'nly prize ! was led , 
By vole selected , to the gen'ral's bed. 
The priest of Phcebus sought by gifts to gain 
His beauteous daughter from the victor's chain ; 
The fleet he reach'd , and lowly bending down 
Held forth the sceptre and the laurel crown , 
Entreating all : but chief implor'd for grace 
The brother-kings of Atreus' royal race : 
The gen'rous Greeks their joint consent declare ; 
The priest to rey'rence, ajad release the fair; 



BOOK I. ID 

JXot so Atrides : he , with wonted pride, 
The sire insulted , and his gifts deny'd : 
Th' insulted sire , his god's peculiar care , 
To Phoebus pray'd , and Phoebus heard the pray'r : 
A dreadful plague ensues : the avenging darts 
Incessant fly, and pierce the Grecian hearts. 
A prophet then, inspir'd by heav'n, arose , 
And points the crime , and thence derives the woes : 
Myself the first the assembled chiefs incline 
T' avert the vengeance of the pow'r divine : 
Then rising in his wrath^ the monarch storm'd ; 
Incens'd he threaten'd, and his threats perform'd : 
The fair Chryseis to her sire was sent , 
"With offer'd gifts to make the gods relent. 
But now he seiz'd Briseis' heav'nly charms, 
And of my valour's prize defrauds my arms ; 
Defrauds the votes of all the Grecian train; 
And service , faith and justice plead in vain. 
But , goddess ! thou thy suppliant son attend, 
To high Olympus' shining court ascend , 
Urge all the ties to former service ow'd , 
And sue for vengeance to the thund'ring god. 
Oft hast thou triumph'd in the glorious boast, 
That thou stood'st forth, of all th' aetherial host, 
When bold rebellion shook the realms above, 
Th' undaunted guard of cloud-compelling Jove. 
When the bright partner of his awful reign , 
The warlike maid, and monarch of the main, 
The traitor - gods , by mad ambition driv'n , 
Durst threat with chains th' omnipotence of heav'n , 
Then call'd by tbee , the monster Titan came , 
Whom gods Briareus , men iEgeon name , 
Thro' wond'ring skies enormous stalk'd along ; 
JJfot he * that shakes the solid earth so strong : 
With giant-pride at Jove's high throne he stands , 
And brandish'd round him all his hundred hands , 
Th' affrighted gods confess'd their awful lord, 
They dropt the fetters , trembled and ador'd. 
This , goddess , this to his remembrance call , 
Embrace his knees , at his tribunal fall *, 

* Keptuae. 



l4 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

Conjure him far to drive the Grecian train, 

To hurl them headlong to their fleet and main; 

To heap the shores with copious death , and bring 

The Greeks to know the curse of such a king ; 

Let Agamemnon lift his haughty head 

O'er all his wide dominion of the dead , 

And mourn in blood , that e'er he durst disgrace 

The boldest warrior of the Grecian race. » 

« Unhappy son! (fair Thetis thus replies, 
While tears celestial trickle from her eyes , ) 
Why have I born thee with a mother's throes , 
To fates adverse , and nurs'd for future w T oes ? 
So short a space ! the light of heav'n to view ! 
So short a space! and fill'd with sorrow too ! 
O might a parent's careful wish prevail , 
Far j far from Ilion should thy vessels sail , 
And thou , from camps remote , the danger shun, 
Which now , alas! too nearly threats my son. 
Yet , what I can , to move thy suit I'll go 
To great Olympus , crown'd with fleecy snow. 
Meantime, secure within thy ships, from far 
Behold the. field, nor mingle in the war. 
The sire of gods, and all th' aethereal train, 
On the warm limits of the farthest main, 
Now mix with mortals , nor disdain to grace 
The feast of iEphiopia's blameless race *, 
Twelve days the pow'rs indulge the genial rite, 
Returning with the twelfth revolving light. 
Then will I mount the brazen dome , and move 
The high tribunal of immortal Jove. » 

The goddess spoke : the rolling waves unclose ; 
Then down the deep she plung'd from whence she rose . 
And left him sorrowing on the lonely coast , 
In wild resentment for the fair he lost. 

In Chrysa's port now sage Ulysses rode ; 
Beneath the deck the destin'd victims stow'd : 
The sails they furl'd , they lash'd the mast aside ,. 
And dropt their anchors , and the pinnace ty'd. 
Next on the shore their hecatomb they land, 
Chryseis last descending on the strand. 
.Her , thus returning from the furrow'd main . 
Ulysses led to Phoebus 3 sacred fane ; 



BOOK I. 

Where at Lis solemn altar, as the maid 
He gave to Chryses , thus the hero said : 

« Hail, rcv'rend priest ! to Phoebus' awful doom 
A suppliant I from great Atrides come : 
Unransorn'd here receive the spotless fair; 
Accept the hecatomb the Greeks prepare ; 
And may thy god who scatters darts around , 
Aton'd by sacrifice, desist to wound! » 

At this the sire embrac'd the maid again, 
" So sadly lost , so lately sought in vain ; 
Then near the altar of the darting king, 
Dispos'd in rank their hecatomb they bring ; 
With water purify their hands , and take 
The sacred offring of the salted cake ; 
While thus with arms devoutly rais'd in air, 
And solemn voice , the priest directs his pray'r : 

« God of the silver bow, thy ear incline, 
Whose pow'r encircles Cilia the divine •, 
Whose sacred eye thy Tenedos surveys , 
And gilds fair Chrysa with distinguish'd rays ! 
If, fir'd to vengeance at thy priest's request, 
Thy direful darts inflict the raging pest ; 
Once more attend ! avert the wasteful woe , 
And smile propitious, and unbend thy bow. » 

So Chryses pray'd ;. Apollo heard his pray'r : 
And now the Greeks their hecatomb prepare *, 
Between their morns the salted barley threw, 
And with their heads to beav'n the victims slew: 
The limbs they sever from the inclosing hide ', 
The thighs , selected to the gods , divide : 
On these , in double cawls involv'd with art , 
The choicest morsels lay from ev'ry part. 
The priest himself before his altar stands, 
And burns the offring with his holy hands, 
Pours the black wine , and st^es the flames aspire* 
The youth wilh instruments surround the fire : 
The thighs thus sacrific'd , and entrails drest, 
Th' assistants part , transfix , and roast the rest : 
Then spread the tables, the repast prepare ; 
Each takes his seat, and each receives his share. 
W 7 hen now the rage of hunger was represt , 
With pure libations thoy conclude the feast; 



l6 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

The youths with wine the copious goblets crown'd , 

And pleas'd , dispense the flowing bowls around. 

With hymns divine the joyous banquet ends, 

The peeans lengthen'd till the sun descends : 

The Greeks restor'd , the grateful notes prolong ; 

Apollo listens , and approves the song. 

'Twas night ; the chiefs beside their vessel lie, 
Till rosy morn had purpled o'er the sky ; 
Then launch, and hoist the mast ; indulgent gales, 
Supply'd by Phcebus , fill the swelling sails ; 
The milk-white canvass bellying as they blow, 
The parted ocean foams and roars below : 
Above the bounding billows swift they flew, 
Till now the Grecian camp appear'd in view. 
Far on the beach they haul their bark to land , 
The crooked keel divides the yellow sand , 
Then part where stretch'd along the winding bay, 
The ships and tents in mingled prospect lay. 

But raging still amidst his navy sat , 
The stern Achilles , stedfast in his hate ; 
Nor mix'd in combat , nor in council join'd ; 
But wasting cares lay heavy on his mind : 
In his black thoughts revenge and slaughter roll , 
And scenes of blood rise dreadful in his soul. 

Twelve days were past , and now the dawning light 
The gods had summon'd to th' Olympian height : 
Jove first ascending from the wat'ry bow'rs , 
Leads the long order of sethereal pow'rs. 
When like the morning mist in early day, 
Hose from the flood the daughter of the sea ; 
And to the seats divine her flight addrest. 
There , far apart and high above the rest , 
The tbund'rer sat ; where old Olympus shrouds 
His hundred heads in heav'n , and props the clouds. 
Supplicant the goddess stood ; one hand she piac'd 
Beneath his beard , and one his knees embrac'd. 
« If e'er, O father of the gods! ( she said) 
My words could please thee , or my actions aid , 
Some marks of honour on my son bestow , 
And pay in glory what in life you owe. 
Fame is at least by heav'nly promise due 
To life so short , and now dishonour' d too. 



BOOK I. 17 

Avenge this wrong, oh ever just and wise! 
Let Greece be humbled, and the Trojans rise, 
Till the proud king, and all th' Achaian race, 
Shall heap with honours him they now disgrace. » 

Thus Thetis spoke , but Jove in silence held 
The sacred councils of his breast conceal'd. 
Not so repuls'd , the goddess closer prest , 
Still grasp'd his knees , and urg'd the dear request. 
« O sire of gods and men ! thy suppliant hear , 
Refuse, or grant; for what has Jove to fear*, 
Or , oh ! declare , of all the pow'rs above 
Is wretched Thetis least the care of Jove ? » 

She said ; and sighing , thus the god replies , 
"Who rolls the thunder o'er the vaulted skies : 

« What hast thou ask'd? Ah ! why should Jove engage 
In foreign contests , and domestic rage , 
The gods' complaints , and Juno's fierce alarms, 
"While I, too partial, aid the Trojan arms? 
Go , lest the haughty partner of my sway 
With jealous eyes thy close access survey ; 
But part in peace , secure thy pray'r is sped : 
Witness the sacred honours of our head , 
The nod that ratifies the will divine, 
The faithful, fix'd, irrevocable sign; 
This seals thy suit , and this fulfils thy vows ». 
He spoke , and awful bends his sable brows , 
Shakes his ambrosial curls , and gives the nod , 
The stamp of fate , and sanction of the god : 
High heav'n with trembling the dread signal took , 
And all Olympus to the center shook. 

Swift to the seas profound the goddess flies , 
Jove to his starry mansion in the skies. 
The shining synod of th' immortals wait 
The coming god , and from their thrones of state 
Arising silent, wrapt in holy fear, 
Before the majesty of heav'n appear. 
Trembling they stand, while Jove assumes the throne^ 
All , but the god's imperious queen alone : 
Late had she view'd the silver footed dame , 
And all her passions kindled into shame. 
«Say, artful manager of heav'n, (she cries), 
Who now partakes the secrets of the skies \ 



l8 HOMERS ILIAD. 

Thy Juno knows not the decrees of fate , 

In vain the partner of imperial state. 

"What fav'rite goddess then those cares divides , 

"Which Jove in prudence from his consort hides % » 

To this the thand'rer: a Seek not thou to find 
The sacred counsels of almighty mind : 
Involv'd in darkness lies the great decree , 
Nor can the depths of fate be pierc'd by thee. 
What fits thy knowledge, thou the first shalt know , 
The first of gods above , and men below ; 
But thou , nor they, shall search the thoughts that roll 
Deep in the close recesses of my soul. » 

Full on the sire the goddess of the skies 
Roll'd the large orbs of her majestic eyes, 
And thus retum'd: « Austere Saturnius , say, 
From whence this wrath , or who controuls thy sway : 
Thy boundless will , for me , remains in force , 
And all th}' counsels take the destin'd course. 
But 'tis for Greece I fear : for late was seen, 
In close consult, the silver-footed queen. 
Jove to his Thetis nothing could deny , 
Nor was the signal vain that shook the sky. 
What fatal favour has the goddess won, 
To grace her fierce , inexorable son ? 
Perhaps in Grecian blood to drench the plain , 
And glut his vengeance with my people slain ». 

Then Ihus the god : « Oh ! restless fate of pride, 
That strives to learn what heav'n resolves to hide ; 
Vain is the search , presumptuous and abhorr'd , 
Anxious to thee , and odious to thy lord. 
Let his suffice ; th' immutable decree 
JNo force can shake ; what is , that ought to be. 
Goddess , submit , nor dare our will withstand , 
But dread the pow'r of this avenging hand ; 
Th' united strength of all the gods above 
In vain resists th' omnipotence of Jove. » 

The thund'rer spoke , nor durst the queen reply ; 
Arev'rend horror silenc'd all the sky. 
The feast disturb'd with sorrow Vulcan saw, 
His mother meiiac'd , and the gods in awe ; 
Peace at his heart , and pleasure his design , 
Thus interpos'd the architect diviae * 



BOOK I. 1< 

« The wretched quarrels of the mortal state 
Are far unworthy , gods ! of your debate : 
Let men their days in senseless strife employ , 
We in eternal peace , and constant joy. 
Thou, goddess-mother; with our sire comply, 
j\ T or break the sacred union of the sty ; 
Lest, rouz'dto rage, he shake the blest abodes, 
Launch the red lightning , and dethrone the gods. 
If you submit, the thund'rer stands appeas'd ; 
The gracious pow'r is willing to be pleas'd ». 

Thus* Vulcan spoke*, and rising with a bound, 
The double bowl with sparkling nectar crown'd , 
Which held to Juno in a cheerful way : 
a Goddess , ( he cry'd , ) be patient and obey. 
Dear as you are , if Jove his arm extend , 
I can but grieve , unable to defend. 
What god so daring in your aid to move , 
Or lift his hand against the force of Jove ? 
Once in your cause I felt his matchless might , 
Hurl'd headlong downward from th 1 oethereal height ; 
Toss'd all the day in rapid circles round ; 
Nor till the sun descended , touch'd the ground : 
Breathless I fell , in giddy motion lost ; 
The Sinthians raii'd me on the Lemnian coast *», 

He said , and to her hands the goblet heav ? d, 
Which , with a smile, the white-arm'd queen received ; 
Then to the rest he fill'd ; and , in his turn , 
Each to his lips apply'd the nectar'd urn. 
Vulcan with aukward grace his office plies, 
And unextinguished laughter shakes the skies. 

Thus the blest gods the genial day prolong 
In feasts ambrosial , and celestial song. 
Apollo tun'd the lyre ; the Muses round 
With voice alternate aid the silver sound : 
Meantime the radiant Sun, to mortal sight 
Descending swift , roll'd down the rapid light. 
Then to their atarry domes the gods depart, 
The shining monuments of Vulcan's art : 
Jove on his couch reclin'd his awful head , 
And Juno slumber'd on the golden bed. 



THE ARGUMENT. 

The trial of the army, and the catalogue of the forces. 

Jupiter, in pursuance of the request of Thetis, sends a de- 
ceitful vision to Agamemnon , persuading him to lead the 
army to battle , in order to make the Greeks sensible of their 
■want of Achilles. The general , who is deluded with the 
hopes of taking Troy without his assistance , but fears the 
army was discouraged by his absence and the late plague , 
as well as by length of time, contrives to make trial of their 
disposition by a stratagem. He first communicates his design 
to the princes in council , that he would propose a return to 
the soldiers, and that they should put a stop to them if the 
proposal was embraced. Then he assembles the whole host, 
and, upon moving for a return to Greece, they unanimously 
agree ta it , and run to prepare the ships. They are detained 
by the management of Ulysses , who chastises the insolence 
of Thersites. The assembly is recalled, several speeches 
made on the occasion, and at length the advice of Nestor fol- 
lowed, which was to make a genera] mustsr of the troops 
and to divide them into their several nations , before they 
proceeded to battle. This gives occasion to the poet to enu- 
merate all the forces of the Greeks and Trojans in a large 
catalogue. 

The time employed in this/book consists not entirely of one 
day. The scene lies in the Grecian camp and upon the sea- 
shore *, toward the end it removes to Troy. 



THE 

ILIAD. 

BOOK II. 



JN ow pleasing sleep had seal'd each mortal eye. 
Stretch'd in the tents the Grecian leaders lie , 
Th' immortals slumber'd on their thrones above , 
All but the ever-wakeful eyes of Jove. 
To honour Thetis' son he bends his care , 
And plunge the Greeks in all the woes of war ; 
Then bids an empty phantom rise to sight, 
And thus commands the vision of the night : 

« Fly hence , deluding dream ! and light as air, 
To Agamemnon's ample tent repair. 
Bid him in arms draw forth the embattl'd train, 
Lead all his Grecians to the dusty plain. 
Declare , ev'n now 'tis giv'n him to destroy 
The lofty tow'rs of wide-extended, Troy ; 
For now no more the gods with fate contend, 
At Juno's suit the heav'nly factions end, 
Destruction hangs o'er yon devoted wall , 
And nodding Ilion waits th' impending fall ». 

Swift as the word the vain illusion fled , 
Descends , and hovers o'er Atrides' head ; 
Cloth'd in the figure of the Pylian sage , 
Renown'd for wisdom , and rever'd for age ; 
Around his temples spreads his golden wing, 
And thus the flatt'ring dream deceives the King. 

« Canst thou, with all a monarch's care opprest, 
Oh Atreus' son ! canst thou indulge thy rest L . 
Ill fits a chief who mighty nations guides, 
Directs in council , and in war presides , 
To whom its safety a whole people owes , 
To waste long nights in indolent repose. 
Monarch, awake ! 'tis Jove's command I bear, 
Thou and thy glory claim his heay'nly care. 



IB 



sa homer's iliab. 

In just array draw forth th' embattl'd train, 
Lead all thy Grecians to the dusty plain ; 
Ev'n now , O king ! 'tis giv'n thee to destroy 
The lofty tow'rs of wide-extended Troy : 
For now no more the gods with fate contend , 
At Juno's suit the heav'nly factions end. 
Destruction hangs o'er yon devoted wall , 
And nodding Ilion waits th' impending fall. 
Awake , but waking this advice approve , 
And trust the vision 4 that descends from Jove ». 

The phantom said ; then vanish'd from his sight , 
Resolves to air , and mixes with the night. 
A thousand schemes the monarch's mind employ *, 
Elate in thought , he sacks untaken Troy : 
Vain as he was , and to the future blind ; 
]Nor saw what Jove and secret fate design'd , 
What mighty toils to either host remain , 
What scenes of grief , and numbers of the slain! 
Eager he rises , and in fancy hears 
The voice celestial murm'ring in his ears. 
First on his limbs a slender vest he drew , 
Around him next the regal mantle threw , 
The embroider'd sandals on his feet were ty'd ; 
The starry faulchion glitter'd at his side ; 
And last his arm the massy sceptre loads , 
Unstrain'd , immortal , and the gift of gods. 

Now rosy Morn ascends the court of Jove, 
Lifts up her light, and opens day above. 
The king dispatch'd his heralds with commands 
To range the camp , and summon all the bands ; 
The gath'ring hosts the monarch's word obey ; 
While to the fleet Atrides bends his way. 
In his black ship the Pylian prince he found ; 
There calls a senate of the peers around : 
Th' assembly plac'd , the king of men exprest 
The counsels lab'ring in his artful breast. 

« Friends and eonfed'rates ! with attentive ear 
Receive my words , and credit what you hear. 
Late as I slumber'd in the shades of night , 
A dream divine appear'd before my sight; 
Whose visionary form like JXestor came , 
The same in habit , and in mien the same. 



BOOK II. 23 

The heav'nly phantom hover'd o'er my head : 
And, dost thou sleep , oh Atreus' son 'I he said : 
111 fits a chief, who mighty nations guides , 
Directs in council , and in war presides , 
To whom its safety a whole people owes , 
To waste long nights in indolent repose. 
Monarch, awake! 'tis Jove's command I bear; 
Thou and thy glory claim his heav'nly care. 
In just array draw forth th' embattl'd train , 
And lead the Grecians to the dusty plain ; 
Ev'n now, O king! 'tis giv'n thee to destroy 
The lofty tow'rs of wide-extended Troy : 
For now no more the gods with fate contend, 
At Juno's suit the heav'nly factions end ; 
Destruction hangs o'er yon devoted wall, 
And nodding Ilion waits th' impending fall. 
This hear observant , and the gods obey ! 
The vision spoke , and pass'd in air away. 
Now , valiant chiefs ! since heav'n itself alarms , 
Unite, and rouse the sons of Greece to arms. 
But first , with caution , try what yet they dare , 
Worn with nine years of unsuccessful war ? 
To move the troops, to measure back the main, 
Be mine ; and your's the province to detain. » 
He spoke , and sat ; when Nestor rising said , 
Nestor, whom Pylos' sandy realms obey'd ; 
« Piinces of Greece , jour faithful ears incline , 
Nor doubt the vision of the pow'rs divine ; 
Sent by great Jove to him who rules the host , 
Forbid it , heav'n ! this warning should be lost ! 
Then let us haste , obey the gods' alarms ; 
And join to rouse the sons of Greece to arms. » 

Thus spoke the sage ; the kings , without delay, 
Dissolve the council , and their chief obey : 
The sceptred rulers lead*, the following host, 
Pour'd forth by thousands, darken all the coast, 
As from some rocky cleft the shepherd sees 
Clust'ring in heaps on heaps the driving bees 
Piolling and black'ning, swarms succeeding swarms , 
With deeper murmurs and more hoarse alarms; 
Dusky they spread a close embody'd crowd, 
And o'er the vale descends the living cloud. 



^4 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

So, from the tents and ships, a length'ning tram 

Spreads all the heach , and wide o'ershades the plain ; 

Along the region runs a deaPning sound; 

Beneath their footsteps groans the trembling ground : 

Fame flies before , the messenger of Jove , 

And shining soars , and claps her wings above. 

Nine sacred heralds , now proclaiming loud 

The monarch's will, suspend the list'ning crowd. 

Soon as the throngs in order rang'd appear, 

And fainter murmurs dy'd upon the ear, 

The king of kings his awful figure rais'd : 

High in his hand the golden sceptre blaz'd; 

The golden sceptre of celestial frame , 

By Vulcan form'd , from Jove to Hermes came : 

To Pelops he th' immortal gift resign'd ? 

Th' immortal gift great Pelops left behind, 

In Atreus' hand , which not with Atreus ends , 

To rich Thyestcs next the prize descends ; 

And now the mark of Agamemnon's reign , 

Subjects all Argos, and controuls the main. 

On this bright sceptre now the king reclin'd, 
And artful thus pronounc'd the speech design'd : 
« Ye sons of Mars ! partake your leader's care , 
Heroes of Greece , and brothers of the war ! 
Of partial Jove with justice I complain, 
And heav'nly oracles believ'd in vain. 
A safe return was promis'd to our toils , 
Renown'd triumphant , and enrich'd with spoils. 
Now shameful flight alone can save the host , 
Our blood , our treasure , and our glory lost. 
So Jove decrees , resistless lord of all! 
At whose command whole empires rise or fall ; 
He shakes the feeble props of humantrust , 
And towns and armies humbles to the dust. 
What shame to Greece a fruitless war to wage, 
Oh lasting shame in ev'ry future age ! 
Once great in arms , the common scorn we grow, 
Repuls'd and baffled by a feeble foe. 
So small their number , that if wars were ceas'd , 
And Greece triumphant held a gen'ral feast , 
All rank'd by ten ; whole decade , when they dine , 
Must want a Trojan slave to pour the wine. 



BOOK II. 2 

But other forces have our hopes overthrown, 
And Troy prevails by armies not her own. 
Now nine long years of mighty Jove are run, 
Since first the labours of this war begun : 
Our cordage torn , decay'd our vessels lie , 
And scarce ensure the wretched pow'r to fly. 
Haste then for ever > leave the Trojan wall ! 
Our weeping wives , our tender children call : 
Love , duty , safety , summon us away , 
'Tis Nature's voice , and Nature we obey. 
Our shattered barks may yet transport us o'er, 
Safe and inglorious , to our native shore. 
Fly, Grecians, fly; your sails and oars employ, 
And dream no more of heav'n- defended Troy, » 
His deep design unknown , tlie hosts approve 
Atrides' speech. The mighty numbers move. 
So roll the billows to th' Icarian shore , 
From east and south , when winds begin to roar ; 
Burst their dark mansions in the clouds , and sweep 
The whit'ning surface of the ruffled deep. 
And as on corn when western gust descend , 
Before the blast the lofty harvests bend ; 
Thus o'er the field the moving host appe.&rs , 
With nodding plumes, and groves of waving spears. 
The gathering murmur spreads , their trampling feet 
Beat the loose sands , and thicken to the fleet. 
With long resounding cries they urge the train 
To fit the ships and launch into the main. 
They toil , they sweat , thick clouds of dust arise , 
The doubling clamours echo to the skies. 
Ev'n then the Greeks had left the hostile plain, 
And Fate decreed the fall of Troy in vain ; 
But Jove's imperial queen their flight surveyed, 
And , sighing , thus bespoke the blue e} 'd maid : 
« Shall then the Grecians fly ! Oh dire disgrace ! 
And leave unpunish'd this perfidious race i 
Shall Troy, shall Priam, and th ' adult'rous spouse } 
In peace enjoy the fruits of broken vows ? 
And bravest chiefs , in Helen's quarrel slain, 
Lie uureveng'd on yon detested plaint 
No; Jet my Greeks, uiimov'd by vain alarms, 
Once more refulgent shine" in brazen arms. 



26 HOMER^S ILIAD. 

Haste , goddess , haste ! the flying host destain , 

3\ T or let one sail be hoisted on the main. » 

Pallas obeys , and , from Olympus 7 height , 
Swift to the ships precipitates her flight ; 
Ulysses , first in public cares , she found , 
For prudent council like the gods renown'd ; 
Oppress'd with gen'rous grief the hero stood, 
]N T or drew his sable vessels to the flood. 
« And is it thus , divine Laertes' son ! 
Thus fly the Greeks ( the martial maid begun ), 
Thus to their country bear their own disgrace , 
And fame eternal leave to Priam's race? 
Shall beauteous Helen still remain unfreed? 
Still unreveng'd a thousand heroes bleed? 
Haste , gen'rous Ithacus ! pf event the shame , 
Recal your armies , and your chiefs reclaim. 
Your own resistless eloquence employ, 
And to th' immortals trust the fall of Troy. » 

The voice divine confest the warlike maid , 
Ulysses heard , nor uninspir'd obey'd : 
Then meeting first Atrides , from his hand 
Receiv'd th' imperial sceptre of command. 
Thus grac'd attention and respect to gain , 
He runs , he flies thro' all the Grecian train 9 
Each prince of name, or chief in arms appov'd, 
He fir'd with praise , or with persuasion mov'd. 

« Warriors like you , with strength and wisdom blest f 
By brave examples should confirm the rest. 
The monarch's will , not yet reveal'd , appears ; 
He tries our courage , but resents our fears. 
Th' unwary Greeks his fury may provoke ; 
Not thus the king in secret council spoke. 
Jove loves our chief; from Jove his honour springs; 
Beware ! for dreadful is the wrath of kings. » 

But if a clam'rous vile plebeian rose , 
Him with reproof he check'd , or tam'd with blowSc 
« Be still , thou slave ,, and to thy betters yield ; 
Unknown alike in council and in field! 
Ye gods, what dastards would our host command ! 
Swept to the war , the lumber of a land. 
Be silent, wretch , and think not here allowed 
That worst of tyrants,, an usurping crowd, 



BOOK II. 27 

To one sole monarch Jove commits the sway ; 
His are the laws , and him let all obey. » 

With words like these the troops Ulysses rul'd, 
The loudest silenc'd , and the fiercest cool'd. 
Back to th' assembly roll the thronging train , 
Desert the ships , and pour upon the plain. 
Murmuring they move , as when old Ocean roars , 
And heaves huge surges to the trembling shores : 
The groaning banks are burst with bellowing sound, 
The rocks remurmur , and the deeps rebound. 
At length the tumult sinks , the noises cease , 
And a still silence lulls the camp to peace, 

Thersites only clamour'd in the throng , 
Loquacious , loud , and turbulent of tongue ; 
Aw'd by no shame , by no respect controul'd, 
In scandal busy , in reproaches bold ; 
With witty malice studious to defame , 
Scorn all his joy , and laughter all his aim. 
But chief he glory'd with licentious stile 
To lash the great, and monarchs to revile. 
His figure such as might his soul proclaim ; 
One eye was blinking , and one leg was lame : 
His mountain-shoulders half his breast overspread , 
Thin hairs bestrew 7 d his long mis-shapen head. 
Spleen to mankind his envious heart possest , 
And much he hated all, but most the best. 
T'lysses or Achilles still his theme ; 
But royal scandal his delight supreme. 
Long had he hVd the scorn of ev'ry Greek, 
Vext when he spoke , yet still they heard him speak. 
Sharp was his voice; which in the shrillest tone, 
Thus with injurious taunts attack'd the throne. 

« Amidst the glories of so bright a reign , 
What moves the great Atrides to complain? 
'Tis thine whatever the warrior's breast enflames, 
The golden spoil , and thine the lovely dames. 
W r ith all the wealth our wars and blood b stow, 
Thy tents are crowded , and thy chiefs o'erflow. 
Thus at full ease in heaps of riches roll'd , 
What grieves the monarch? Is it thirst of gold? 
Say, shall we march with our unconquer'd pow'rs, 
The Greeks and I , to Hion's hostile tow'rs , 



28 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

And bring the race of royal bastards here 7 
For Troy to ransom at a price too dear l . 
But safer plunder thy own host supplies. 
Say, would'st thou seize some valiant leader's prize? 
Or, if thy heart to gen'rous love he led , 
Some captive fair , to bless thy kingly bed ? 
Whate'er our master craves , submit we must , 
Plagu'd with his p^jde , or punish'd for his lust. 
Oh women of Achaia ! men no more ! 
Hence let us fly , and let him w r aste his store 
In loves and pleasures on the Phrygian shore. 
We may be wanted on some busy day , 
When Hector comes : so great Achilles may : 
From him he forc'd the prize we jointly gave , 
From him the fierce , the fearless , and the brave : 
And durst he , as he ought , resent that wrong, 
This mighty tyrant were no tyrant long. » 

Fierce from his seat , at this , Ulysses springs , 
In gen'rous vengeance of the king of kings. 
With indignation sparkling in his eyes, 
He views the wretch , and sternly thus replies : 

« Peace , factious monster , born to vex the state t 
With wrangling talents form'd for foul debate ; 
Curb that impetuous tongue , nor rashly vain , 
And singly mad, asperse the sov'reign reign. 
Have we not known thee , slave ! of ail our host, 
The man who acts the least , upbraids the most ? 
Think not the Greeks to shameful flight to bring, 
Pfor let those lips profane the name of king. 
For our return we trust the heav'nly pow'rs ; 
Be that their care ; to fight like men be ours. 
But grant the host with wealth the gen'ral load , 
Except detraction, what hast thou bestow'd? 
Suppose some hero should his spoils resign , 
Art thou that hero , could those spoils be thine ? 
Gods ! let me perish on this hateful shore , 
And let these eyes behold my son no more ; 
If, on thy next offence, this hand forbear 
To strip those arms thou ill deserv'st to wear ; 
Expel the council where our princes meet , 
And send thee scourg'd, and howling thro' the fleet, w 



book ir. 29 

He said , and cow'ring as the dastard bends , 
The weighty sceptre on his hack descends : 
On the round bunch the bloody tumours rise ; 
The tears spring starting from his haggard eyes ; 
Trembling he sat , and shrunk in abject fears , 
From his vile visage wip'd the scalding tears. 
While to his neighbour each express'd his thought: 
« Ye gods ! what wonders has "Ulysses wrought ! 
"What fruits his conduct , and his courage yield ! 
Great in the council, glorious in the field. 
Gen'rous he rises in the crown's defence , 
To curb the factious tongue of insolence. 
Such just examples on offenders shown , 
Sedition silence , and assert the throne. » 

'Twas thus the gen'ral voice the hero prais'd, 
Who rising , high th' imperial sceptre rais'd : 
The blue-ey'd Pallas , his celestial friend , 
In form a herald , bade the crowds attend. 
Th' expecting crowds in still attention hung , 
To hear the wisdom of his heav'nly tongue. 
Then deeply thoughtful , pausing ere he spoke > 
His silence thus the prudent hero broke. 

« Unhappy monarch ! whom the Grecian race, 
With shame deserting , heap with vile disgrace. 
Not such at Argos was their gen'rous vow, 
Once all their voice , but , ah ! forgotten now. * 
Ne'er to return was then the common cry , 
Till Troy's proud structures should in ashes lie. 
Behold them weeping for their native shore ! 
What could their wives or helpless children more 1 
What heart but melts to leave the tender train , 
And , one short month , endure the wintry main ? 
Few leagues remov'd , we wish our peaceful seat , 
When the ship tosses, and the tempests beat: 
Then well may this long stay provoke their tears , 
The tedious length of nine revolving years. 
Not for their grief the Grecian host I blame j 
But vanquished ! baffled ! O eternal shame i 
Except the time to Troy's destruction giv'n. 
And try the faith of Chalcas and of heav'n. 
What past at Aulis , Greece can witness bear , 
And all who hre to breathe this Phrygian air. 



3o HOMERS ILIADi 

Beside a fountain's sacred brink we rais'd 

Our verdant altars , and the victims blaz'd ; 

'Twas where the plane-tree spread its shades around ; 

The altars heav'd , and from the crumbling ground 

A mighty dragon shot , of dire portent : 

From Jove himself the dreadful sign was sent. 

Strait to the tree his sanguine spires he roll'd, 

And curl'd around in many a winding fold. 

The top-most branch a mother-bird possest ; 

Eight callow infants fill'd the mossy nest ; 

Herself the ninth ; the serpent as he hung , 

Stretch'd his black faws , and crush'd the crying jouu^ 

While hov'ring near , with miserable moan , 

The drooping mother wail'd her children gone. 

The mother last, as round the nest she flew , 

Seiz'd by the beating Aving , the monster slew ; 

Nor long surviv'd, to marble turn'd he stands, 

A lasting progeny on Aulis' sands. 

Such was the will of Jove ; and hence we dare 

Trust in his omen and support the war. 

For while around we gaz'd with wond'ring eyes, 

And trembling sought the pow'rs with sacrifice ? 

Full of his god , the rev'rend Chalcas cry'd ; 

<c Ye Grecian warriors ! lay your fears aside. 

This wond'rous signal Jove himself displays , 

Of long , long labours , but eternal praise. 

As many birds as by the snake were slain , 

So many years the toils of Greece remain ; 

But wait the tenth , for Ilion's fall decreed. » 

Thus spoke the prophet, thus the fates succeed, 

Obey, ye Grecians ! with submission wait , 

Nor let your flight avert the Trojan fate. » 

Ke said : the shores with loud applauses sound , 
The hollow ships each deaf'ning shout rebound. 
Then JNestor thus : — « These vain debates forbear ; 
Ye talk like chil Jrea , not like heroes dare. 
Where now are ail your high resolves at last? 
Your leagues coiicluucd, your engagements past? 
Vow'd with libations and with victims then , 
Now vanish'd like their smoke : the faith of men ! 
W r hiJe useless words consume th' inactive hours . 
No wonder Troy so long resists our pow'rs. 



BOOK II. 3l 

Rise , great Atrides ! and with courage sway ; 
We march to war if thou direct the way *, 
But leave the few that dare resist thy laws , 
The mean deserters of the Grecian cause , 
To grudge the conquests mighty Jove prepares , 
And view, with envy, our successful wars. 
On that great day when first the martial train , 
Big with the fate of Ilion , plow'd the main *, 
Jove , on the right , a prosperous signal sent, 
And thunder rolling shook the firmament. 
Encourag'd hence , maintain the glorious strife , 
Till ev'ry soldier grasp a Phrygian wife , 
Till Helen's woes at full reveng'd appear , 
And Troy's proud matrons render tear for tear. 
Before that day, if any Greek invite 
His country's troops to base , inglorious flight , 
Stand forth that Greek ! and hoist his sail to fly ; 
And die the dastard first , who dreads to die. 
But now , O monarch ! all thy chiefs advise , 
3Nbr what they offer, thou thyself despise *, 
Among those counsels , let not mine be vain , 
In tribes and nations to divide thy train •, 
His sep'rate troops let ev'ry leader call, 
Each strengthen each, and all encourage all. 
What chief, or soldier, of the num'rous band . 
Or bravely fights , or ill obeys command , 
When thus distinct the war, shall soon be known ? 
And what the cause of Ilion not o'erthrown ; 
If fate resists , or if our arms are slow, 
If gods above prevent , or men below. » 

To him the king : « How much thy years excel 
In arts of council , and in speaking well ! 
O would the gods , in love to Greece decree 
But ten such sages as they grant in thee , 
Such wisdom soon should Priam's force destroy, 
And soon should fall the haughty tow'rs of Troy t 
But Jove forbids , who plunges those he hates 
In fierce contention and in vain debates. 
Now great Achilles from our aid withdraws , 
By me provok'd ; a captive maid the cause : 
If e'er as friends we join , the Trojan wall 
Must shake , and heavy will the vengeance fall ! 



3a homer's iliad. 

But now, ye warriors , take a short repast ; 
And , well refreshed , to bloody conflict haste, 
Bis sharpened spear let ev'ry Grecian wield, 
And ev'ry Grecian fix his brazen shield ; 
JLet all excite the fiery steeds of war, 
And all for combat fit the rattling car. 
This daj, this dreadful day , let each contend ; 
No rest , no respite , till the shades descend ; 
Till darkness , or till death shaJl cover all : 
Let the war bleed , aud let the mighty fall ! 
Till bath'd in sweat be ev'ry manly breast , 
With the huge shield each brawny arm deprest. 
Each aching nerve refuse the lance to throw , 
And each spent courser at the chariot blow. 
"Who dares , inglorious, in his ships to stay, 
Who dares to tremble on this signal day; 
That wretch , too mean to fall by martial pow'r , 
The birds shall mangle , and the dogs devour. » 

The monarch spoke ; and strait a murmur rose. 
Loud as the surges when the tempest blows , 
That dash'd on broken rocks tumultuous roar, 
And foam and thunder oil the stony shore. 
Strait to the tents the troojps dispersing bend , 
The fires are kindled, and the smokes ascend; 
With hasty feasts they sacrifice , and pray 
T' avert the dangers of the doubtful day. 
A steer of five years age, large limb'd and fed , 
To Jove's high altars Agamemnon led : 
There bade the noblest of the Grecian peers ; 
And Nestor first, as most advanc'd in years, 
Next came Idomeneus and Tydeus* son , 
Ajax the less , and Ajax Telamon ; 
Then wise TJrysses in his rank was plac'd ; 
And Menelaus came unbid , the last. 
The chiefs surround the destin'd beast , and take 
The sacred off 'ring of the salted cake ; 
When thus the king prefers his solemn pray'r : 
« O thou ! whose thunder rends the clouded air, 
Who in the heav'n of heav'ns has fix'd thy throne ? 
Supreme of gods ! unbounded , and alone ! 
Hear, and before the burning sun descends, 
Before the night her gloomy veil extends , 



BOOK II. 33 

Low in the dust be laid yon hostile spires y 

Be Priam's palace sunk in Grecian fires ; 

In Hector's breast be plung'd this shining sword , 

And slaughter'd heroes groan around their lord! » 

Thus pray'd the chief : his unavailing pray'r 
Great Jove refus'd , and tost in empty air : 
The gods averse , while yet the fumes arose , 
Prepar'd new toils , and doubled woes on woes. 
Their pray'rs perform'd, the chiefs the rite pursue , 
The barley sprinkled , and the victim slew. 
The limbs they .sever from th' inclosing hide , 
The thighs, selected to the gods , divide. 
On these , in double cauls involv'd with art } 
The choicest morsels lie from ev'ry part. 
From the cleft wood the crackling flames aspire, 
While the fat victim feeds the sacred fire. 
The thighs thus sacrific'd , and entrails drest , 
Th' assistants part , transfix , and roast the rest ; 
Then spread the tables, the repast prepare , 
Each takes his seat , and each receives his share. 
Soon as the r,age of hunger was supprest , 
The gen'rous Nestor thus the prince addrest : 

« Now bid thy heralds sound the loud alarms, 
And call the squadrons sheath' d in brazen arms : 
Now seize th' occasion, now the troops survey, 
And lead to war when Heav'n directs the way. » 
He said ; The monarch issu'd his commands ; 
Strait the loud heralds call the gath'ring bands. 
The chiefs inclose their king ; the hosts divide, 
In tribes and nations rank'd on either side. 
High in the midst the blue-ey'd virgin flies ; 
From rank to rank she darts her ardent eyes : 
The dreadful iEgis , Jove's immortal shield , 
Blaz'd on her arm , and lighten'd all the field ; 
Round the vast orb an hundred serpents roll'd, 
Form'd the bright fringe , and seem'd to burn in gold. 
With this each Grecian's manly breast she warms , 
Swells their bold hearts , and strings their nervous arms. 
No more they sigh , inglorious to return , 
But breathe revenge , and for the combat burn. 
As on some mountain , thro' the lofty grove , 
The crackling flames ascend ; and blaze above , 



34 HOMERS ILIAD. 

The fires expanding as the winds arise , 
Shoot their long beams , and kindle half the skies I 
So from the polish'd arms , and brazen shields , 
A gleanry splendour flash'd along the fields. 
Not less their number than th' embody 'd cranes , 
Or milk-white swans in Asius' watry plains , 
That o'er the windings ofCayster's springs, 
Stretch their long necks, and clap their rustling wings. 
Wow tow'r aloft , and course in airy rounds ; 
3N T ow light with noise ; with noise the field resounds. 
Thus num'rous and coafus'd , extending wide , 
The legions crowd Scamancher's flow'ry side; 
With rushing troops the plains are cover'd o'er, 
And thimd'ring footsteps shale the sounding shore : 
Along the river's level meads they stand, 
Thick as i;i spring the flowers adorn the land , 
Or leaves the trees ; or thick as insects play, 
The wand'ring nation of a summer's day, 
That, drawn by milky streams, at ev'ning hours, 
In gather'd swarms surround the rural bow'rs *. 
From pail to pail with busy murmur run 
The gilding legions giitt'ring in the sun. 
So throng , so close , the Grecian squadrons stood 
In radiant arms , and thirst for Trojan blood. 
Each leader now his scatter' d force conjoins 
In close array, and forms the deep'ning lines, 
Not with more ease, the skilful shepherd swain 
Collects his flock from thousands on the plain. 
The king of kings, majestically tall , 
Tow T 'rs o'er his armies , and outshines them all ; 
Like some proud bull that round the pastures leads 
His subject-herds, the monarch of the meads. 
Great as the gods , th' exalted chief was seen, 
His strength like Neptune, and like Mars his mien : 
Jove o'er his eyes celestial glories spread , 
And dawning conquest play'd around his head. 
Say, virgins, seated round the throne divine, 
All-knowing goddesses ! immortal nine ! 
Since earth's wide regions , heav'us unmeasur'd height ? 
And hell's abyss , hide nothing from your sight ; 
We , wretched mortals 1 lost in doubts below, 
But guess by rumour, and but boast we know j 



BOOK II. 
Oh say what heroes , fir'd by thirst of fam e . 
Or urg'd by wrongs , to Troy's destruction ;amo ; 
To count them all , demands a thousand tongues . 
A throat of brass , and adamantine lungs. 
Daughters of Jove , assist ! inspir'd by you, 
The mighty labour dauntless I pursue : 
What crowded armies , from what climes they J . 
Their names, their numbers , and their chiefs I sing. 

The Catalogue of the Ships. 

The hardy warriors whom Bceotia bred y 
Penelius , Leitus , Prothoenor led : 
\Vith these Arcesilaus and Clonius stand \ 
Equal in arms , and equal in command : 
These head the troops that rocky Aulis yields , 
And Eteon's hills . and Hyrie's watry held- . 
And Schcenus . Scholos, Grea near the mam f 
And Alycalessia's ample piny plain ; 
Those who in Pet-on or Hesiou dwell. 
Or Harma where Apollo's prophet fell : 
Heleon and Hyle , which the spriuss o'erflow, 
And Medeon lofty, and Ocdea I 
Or in the meads of Holiartr 
Or Thespia sacred I of day. 

Obchestus . Neptune^ celebrated proves ; 
Copa? , and Thisbe , fanrd for silver doves j 
For flocks Erythae , Glissa for the vine ; 
Platea green . and 2N"isa the d: 
Aud they whom Thebes' well-built walls inclose, 
Where Alyde, Eutr . ; 

Arne rich , with purple harvests crownd j 
And A . Bceotia's utmost hound. 

Full fifty ships they send , and each conveys 
:c si\*y warriors thro' the foarai 

succeed A in, 

Who plow the spacious Orchomeniau plain. 
Two valiant brothers rule th' undaunted throng f 
Ialmen and Ascalaphus th." stK 

of Astyoche , the heavn'l . t,.ir , 

gin charms subuu'd the god of war : 
In Actor's court as she rehrd to rest, 
The strength of Man the blushing maid compresf 



36 homer's ILIAD. 

Their troops in thirty sable vessels sweep , 
With equal oars , the hoarse resounding deep, 

The Fhocians next in forty barks repair, 
Epistrophus and Schedius head the war. 
From those rich regions where Cephissus leads 
His silver current thro' the flow'ry meads *, 
From Panopea , Chrysa the divine ; 
Where Anemoria's stately turrets shine , 
Where Py tho , Daulis , Cyparissus stood , 
And fair Lilea views the rising flood. 
These rang'd in order on the floating tide, 
Close", on the left . the hold Boeotians side. 

Fierce Ajax led the Locrian squadrons on, 
Ajax the less , Oileus' valiant son ;' 
Skill'd to direct the flying dart aright ; 
Swift in pursuit, and active in the fight. 
Him, as their chief, the chosen troops attend, 
W r hich Bessa , Thronus , and rich Cynos send : 
Opus , Calliarus , and Scarphe's bands ; 
And those who dwell where pleasing Augia stands , 
And where Boagrius floats the lowly lands, 
Or in fair Tarphe's sylvan seats reside ; 
In forty vessels cut the yielding tide. 

Eubcea next her martial sons prepares , 
And sends the brave Abantes to the wars : 
Breathing revenge , in arms they take their way 
From Chalcis' walls, and strong Eretria ; 
Th' Isteian fields , for gen'rous vines renown'd , 
The fair Caristos , and the Styrian ground ; 
Where Dios from her tow'rs overlooks the plain , 
And high Cerinthus views the neighboring main. 
Down their broad shoulders falls a length of hair j 
Their hands dismiss not the long lance in air ; 
But with portended spears in fighting fields , 
Pierce the tough corslets and the brazen shields, 
Twice twenty ships tranport the warlike bands , 
Which bold Elphenor, fierce in arms, commands, 
Full fifty more from Athens stem the main , 
Led by Menestheus thro' the liquid plain ; 
Athens the fair, where great Erectheus sway'd, 
That ow'd his nurture to the blue-ey'd maid. 



BOOK II. 37 

But from the teeming furrow took his birth y 

The mighty offspring of the foodful earth. 

Him Pallas plac'd amidst her wealthy fane. 

Ador'd with sacrifice and oxen slain ; 

Where , as the years revolve , her altars blaze , 

And all the tribes resound the goddess' praise. 

No chief like thee , Menestheus ! Greece could yield, 

To marshal armies in the dusty field , 

Th' extended wings of battle to display , 

Or clo.«e th' embodied host in firm array. 

Nestor alone , improv'd by length of days , 

For martial conduct bore an equal praise. 

With these appear the Solaminian bands , 
Whom the gigantic Telamon commands ; 
In twelve black ships to Troy the} r steer their course , 
And with the great Athenians join their force. 

Next move to war the gen'rous Argive train ? i 

From high Trcezene , and Maseta's plain , \ 

And fair yEgiua circled by the main : \ 

W r hom strong Tyrinthe's lofty walls surround , 
And Epidaure with viny harvests crown'd : 
And where fair Asinen and Hermion show 
Their cliffs above , and ample bay below. 
These , by the brave Euryalus were led , 
Great Stheneius , and greater Diomed ; 
But chief Tjdides bore the sov'reign sway; 
In fourscore l>arks they plow the watry way. 

The proud Mycene arms her martial pow'rs , 
Cleone, Corinth, with imperial tow'rs, 
Fair Arsethyrea , Ornia's fruitful plain , 
And JEgion , and Adrastus' ancient reign : 
And those who dwell along the sandy shore ? 
And where Pyllene yields her fleecy store, 
Where Helice and Hyperesia lie, 
And Gonoessa's spires salute the sky. 
Great Agamemnon rules the num'rous band ? 1 

A hundred vessels in long order stand , > 

And crowded nations wait his dread command. ; 

High on the deck the king of men appears , 
And his refulgent arms in triumph wears ; 
Proud of his host , unrival'd in his reign , 
la silent pomp he moyes along the main, 



38 HOMER'S ILI^D. 

His brother follows, and to vengeance warms 
The hardy Spartans , exercis'd in arms : 
Phares and Brysia's valiant troops , and those 
Whom Lacedsemoii's lofty hills inclose : 
Or Messe's tow'rs for silver doves renown'd , 
Amycla? , C^aas , Augia's happy ground , 
And those whom Oetylos' low walls contain , 
And Kelos on the margin of the main. 
These , o'er the bending ocean , Helen's cause 
In sixty ships with Menelaus draws. 
Eager and loud from man to man he flies, 
Revenge and fury flaming in his eyes ; 
"While vainly fond , in fancy oft he hears 
The fair one's grief, and sees her falling tears. 

In ninety sail , from Pylos' sandy coast , 
IVestor the sage conducts his chosen host ; 
' From Amphigenia's ever-fruitful land , 
Where iEpy high , and little Ptelon stand ; 
Where beauteous Arene her structures shows , 
And Thryon's walls Alpheus' streams inclose *, 
And Dorion , fam'd for Thamyris' disgrace , 
Superior once of all the tuneful race , 
'Till vain of mortals empty praise , he strove 
To match the seed of cloud-compelling Jove ! 
Too daring bard ! whose unsuccessful pride 
Th' immortal Muses in their art defy'd. 
Th 7 avenging Muses of the light of day 
Depriv'd his eyes , and snatcli'd his voice away ; 
Ko more his heavn'ly voice was heard to sing , 
His hand no more awak'cl the silver string. 

Where under high Cyllene, crown'd with wood, 
The shaded tomb of old zEpytus stood; 
From Ripe , Stratie , Tegea's bord'ring towns , 
The Phenean fields, and Orchomenian downs ; 
Where the fat herds in plenteous pasture rove •, 
And Stymphelus with her surroundiug grove ; 
Parrhasla , on her snowy cliffs reclin'd , 
And high Enispe shook by wintry wind, 
And fair Mantinia's ever-pleasing site ; 
In sixty sail th' Arcadian bands unite. 
Bold Agapehor , glorious at their head , 
Ancseus' son, the mighty squadron led. 



BOOK II. 09 

Their ships , supply 'd- by Agamemnon's care , 
Thro' roaring seas the wond'ring warriors bear : 
The first to battle on th' appointed plain 7 
But new to all the dangers of the main. 

Those, where fair Ellis and Buprasium join; 
Whom Hyrniin , here , and Myrsinns confine , 
And bounded there , where o'er the vailies rose 
Th' Oleniau rock , and where Alisium flows *, 
Beneath four chiefs a num'rous army came ; 
The strength and ghny of th' Epean name ; 
In sep'rate squadron's these their train divide , 
Each leads ten vessels thro' the yielding tide. 
One was Ainphiniachus , and Thalpius one : 
Eurytus' this , and that Teatus' son ; 
Dores sprung from Amarynceus' line ; 
And great Prolyxemus , of force divine. 

But those who view fair Elis o'er the seas 
From the blest islands of th' Echinades , 
In forty vessels under Meges move , 
Begot by Phylius the belov'd of Jove. 
To strong Dulichium from his sire he fled , 
And thence to Troy his hardy warriors led. 

Ulysses follow'd thro' the watry road , 
A chief, in wisdom equal to a god. 
With those whom Cephalenia's isle inelos'd , 
Or till their fields along the coast oppos'd ; 
Or where fair Ithaca o'erlooks the floods , 
Where high JNeritos shakes his waving woods, 
Where iEgilipa's rugged sides are seen , 
Crocylia rocky , and Zacynthus green. 
These in twelve gallies with vermilion prores, 
Beneath his conduct sought the Phrygian shores. 

Thoas came next , Andrasmon's valiant son , 
From Pieuron's wails , and chalky Calydon, 
And rough Pyiene , and th' Oienian steep , 
And Chalcis beaten by the rolling deep. 
He led the warriors from th' ^Etoiian shore ; 
For now the sons of Oeneus were no more ! 
The glories of the mighty race were fled ! 
Oeneus himself and Meieager dead ! 
To Thoas' care now trust the martial train, 
His forty vessels follow thro' the main. 



4o HOMER's ILIAD. 

Next eighty barks the Cretan king commands, 
Of Gnossus , Lye t us , and Gortyna's bands , 
And those who dwell where Rhytion's domes arise , 
Or white Lycastus glitters to the skies , 
Or where by Phaestus silver Jardan runs ; 
Crete's hundred cities pour forth ail her sons. 
These march'd , Idomeneus , beneath thy care , 
And Merion , dreadful as the god of war, 

Tlepolemus , the son of Hercules , 
Led nine swift vessels thro' the foamy seas ; 
From Rhodes with everlasting sunshine bright , 
Jalyssus . Lindus , and Camirus white. 
His captive mother fierce Alcides bore 
From Ephyr's walls, and Selle's winding shore , 
Where mighty towns in ruins spread the plain, 
And saw their blooming warriors early slain. 
The hero , when to manly years he grew, 
Alcides 1 uncle , old Licymnius , slew ; 
For this, constrain'd to quit his native place, 
And shun the vengeance of th' Herculean race , 
A fleet he built , and with a num'rous train 
Of willing exiles , wander'd o'er the main ; 
Where many seas and many saff rings past, 
On happy Rhodes the chief arriv'd at last : 
There in three tribes divides his native band , 
And rules them peaceful in a foreign land ; 
Increas'd and prosper'd in their new abodes 
By mighty Jove , the sire of men and gods ; 
With joy they saw the growing empire rise , 
And show'rs of wealth descending from the skies. 

Three ships with Nireus sought the Trojan shore ^ 
Nireus , whom Aglae to Charopus bore ; 
Nireus , in faultless shape and blooming grace , 
The loveliest youth of all the Grecian race ; 
Pelides only match'd his early charms ; 
But few his troops , and small his strength in arms. 

Next thirty galleys cleave the liquid plain , 
Of those , Colydnce's sea-girt isJes contain \ 
W ith them the youth of Nisyrus repair , 
Casus the strong , and Crapalhus the fair ; 
Cos , where Eurypylus possest the sway 
Till great Aicides made the realms obey : 



BOOK II. 4 l 

These Antipnus and bold Phidippus bring , 
Sprung from the god by Thessalus the king. 

Now, Muse , recount Pelasgic Argos' pow'rs , 
From Alos , Alope , and Trechin's tow'rs *, 
From Phthia's spacious vales ; and Hella , blest 
With female beauty far beyond the rest. 
Full fifty ships beneath Achilles' care , 
Th' Achaians , Myrmidons , Hellenians bear ; 
Thessalians all , tho' various in their name , 
The same their nation , and their chief the same, 
But now inglorious , stretch'd along the shore , 
They hear the brazen voice of war no more ; 
No more the foe they face in dire array ) 
Close in his fleet their angry leader lay ; 
Since fair Briseis from his arms was torn , 
The noblest spoil from sack'd Lyrnessus borne, 
Then , when the chief the Theban walls o'erthrew, 
And the bold sons of great Evenus slew. 
There mourn'd Achilles , plung'd in depth of care y 
But soon to rise in slaughter , blood , and war. 

To these the youth of Phylace succeed; 
Itona , famous for her fleecy breed , 
And grassy Pteleon deck'd with cheerful greens , 
The bow'ts of Ceres, and the sylvan scenes ; 
Sweet Pyri hasius , with blooming flow'rets crown' d , 
And Antron's watry dens , and cavern' d ground. 
These own'd as chief Protesilas the brave , 
Who now lay silent in the gloomy grave : 
The first who boldly touch'd the Trojan shore, 
And dy'd a Phrygian lance with Grecian gore ; 
There lies , far distant from his native plain ; 
Unfinish'd his proud palaces remain , 
And his sad consort beats her breast in vain, 
His troops in forty ships Podarces led , 
Iphiclus' son , and brother to the dead ; 
Nor he unworthy to command the host ; 
Yet still they mourn'd their ancient leader lost. 

The men who Glaphyras' fair soil partake y 
Where hills encircle Bcebe's lowly lake , 
Where Pherae hears the neighb'ring waters fall , 
Or proud Iolcus lifts her airy wall , 



4^ HOMERS ILIAD. 

In ten Mack ships embark'd for Ilion's shore , 
With bold Eumelus , whom Alceste bore \ 
All Pelias' race Alceste far outshin'd , 
The grace and glory of the beauteous kind. 

The troops Methone , or Thaumacia yields , 
Olizon's rocks , or Mileboea's fields , 
W ith Philoctetes saiPd , whose matchless art 
From the tough bow directs the feather'd dart. 
Sev'n were his ships *, each vessel fifty row ? 
Skill'd in his science of the dart and bow. 
But he lay raging on the Lemnian ground , 
A pois'nous Hydra gave the burning wound \ 
There groan'd the chief in agonizing pain , 
"Whom Greece at length shall wish , nor wish in vain* 
His forces Medon led from Lemnos 7 shore , 
Oiieus' son, whom beauteous Rhena bore. 

Th' Oechalian race , in those high tow'rs contain'd , 
Where once Eurythus in proud triumph reign' d , 
Or where her humbler turrets Tricca rears , 
Or where Ithome , rough with rocks , appears ; 
1 1 thirty sail the sparkling waves divide, 
Which Podalirius and Machaon guide. 
To these his skill their parent -god * imparts , 
Divine professors of the healing arts. 

The bold Ormenian and Asterian bands 
In forty barks Eurypylus commands , 
Where Titan hides his hoary head in snow ? 
And where Hyperia's silver fountains flow. 

Thy troops , Argissa ? Polypcetes leads , 
And Eleon shelter'd by Olympus* shades , 
Gyrtone's warriors ; and where Orthe lies , 
And Oloosson's chalky cliffs arise. 
Sprung from Pirithous of immortal race , 
The fruit of fair Hippodame's embrace , 
That day , when liurl'd from Pelion's cloudy head 9 
To distant dens the shaggy Centaurs fled, 
With Polypoetes, join'd in equal sway, 
Leonteus leads, and forty ships obey. 

In twenty sail the bold Perrhsebians came 
From Cyphus; Guneus was their leader's name. 

Mr .AEsculapius, 



BOOK II. 43 

With these the Enians join'd , and those who freeze 
Where cold Dodona lifts her holy trees ; 
Or where the pleasing Titaresus glides , 
And into Peneus rolls his easy tides ; 
Yet o'er the silver surface pure they flow , 
The sacred stream unrnix'd with streams below, 
Sacred and awful ! From the dark abodes 
Styx pours them forth , the dreadful oath of gods ! 

Last under Prothous the Magnesians stood , 
Prothous the swift, of old Tenthredon's blood *, 
Who dwell where Pelion , crown'd with piny boughs , 
Obscures the glade, and nods his shaggy brows, 
Or where thro' flow'ry Tempe Peneus stray'd ; 
The region stretch'd beneath his mighty shade; 
In forty sable barks they stemm'd the main. 
Such were the chiefs , and such the Grecian train* 

Say next , O Muse ! of all Achaia breeds , 
Who bravest fought, or rein'd the noblest steeds? 
Eumelus' mares were foremost in the chace , 
As eagles fleet , and of Pheretian race ; 
Bred where Pieria's fruitful fountains flow , 
And train'd by him who bears the silver bow. 
Fierce in the fight , their nostrils breath'd a flame ; 
Their height, their colour, and their age the same : 
O'er fields of death they whirl the rapid car, 
And break the ranks, and thunder thro' the war. 
Ajax in arms the first renown acquir'd, 
While stern Achilles in his wrath retir'd : 
His was the strength that mortal might exceeds , 
And his, th' unrival'd race of heav'nly steeds : 
But Thetis' son now shines in arms no more ; 
His troops , neglected on the sandy shore , 
In empty air their sportive jav'lins throw, 
Or whirl the disk , or bend an idle bow : 
Unstain'd with blood his cover'd chariots stand ; 
Th' immortal coursers graze along the strand ; 
But the brave chiefs th' inglorious life deplor'd , 
And wand'ring o'er the camp > requir'd their lord. 

Now , like a deluge , covering all around , 
The shining armies sweep along the ground ; 
Swift as a flood of fire, when storms rise, 
Floats the wide field , and blazes to the skies. 



44 HOMERS ILIAD. 

Earth groan'd beneath them ; as when angry Jove 

Hurls down the forky lightning from above , 

On Arime when he the thunder throws , 

And fires Typhoeus with redoubled blows , 

Where Typhon prest beneath the burning load , 

Still feels the fury of th' avenging god. 

But various Iris , Jove's commands to bear , 
Speeds on the wings of winds thro' liquid air; 
In Priam's porch the Trojan chiefs she found, 
The old consulting , and the youths around. 
Polites' shape , the monarch's son , she choose , 
Who from iEsetes' tomb observ'd the foes , 
High on the mound ; from whence in prospect lay 
The fields, the tents, the navy, and the bay. 
In this dissembled form, she hastes to bring 
Th' unwelcome message to the Phrygian king. 

« Cease to consult, the time for action calls; 
War , horrid war , approaches to your walls ! 
Assembled armies oft have I beheld ; 
But ne'er till now such numbers charg'd a field. 
Thick as autumnal leaves, or driving sand, 
The moving squadrons blacken all the strand. 
Thou, god-like Hector! all thy force employ, 
Assemble all th' united bands of Troy; 
In just array let ev'ry leader call 
The foreign troops : this day demands them all. i> 

The voice divine the mighty chief alarms ; 
The council breaks, the warriors rush to arms. 
The gates unfolding pour forth all their train , 
JNations on nations fill the dusky plain ; 
Men, steeds, and chariots shake the trembling ground. 
The tumult thickens, and the skies resound. 
Amidst the plain , in sight of Ilion , stands 
A rising mount , the work of human hands ; 
This for Myrinne's tomb th' immortals know, 
Tho' call'd Bateia in the world below ; 
Beneath their chiefs in martial order here, 
Th' auxiliar troops and Trojan hosts appear. 

The god-like Hector, high above the rest , 
Shakes his huge spear , and nods his plumy crest : 
In throngs around his native bands repair , 
And groves of lances glitter in the air. 



BOOK If. 4^ 

Divine iEneas brings the Dardan race , 
Anchises' son, by Venus' stol'n ^embrace , 
Born in the shades of Ida's sacred grove, 
A mortal mixing with the queen of Jove : 
Archilochus and Achamas divide 
The warrior's toils , and combat by his side. 

Who fair Zeliea's wealthy valleys till y 
Fast by the foot of Ida's sacred hill ; 
Or drink , JEsepus , of thy sable flood ; 
Were led by Pandarus of royal blood : 
To whom his art Apollo deign'd to show , 
Grac'd with the present of his shafts and bow. 

From rich Apsesus and Adrestia's tow'rs 
High Teree's summits , and Pityea's bow'rs *, 
From these the congregated troops obey 
Young Amphius and Adrastus' equal sway ; 
Old Merops' sons , whom , skill'd in fates to come , 
The sire forewarn'd , and prophesy'd their doom : 
Fate urg'd them on ! The sire forewarn'd in vain , 
They rush'd to war , and perish'd on the plain. 

From Practius' stream , Percote's pasture lands ^ 
And Sestos and Abydos' neighb'ring strands • 
From great Arisba's walls and Selle's coast , 
Asius Hyrtacides conducts his host : 
High on his car he shakes the flowing reins : 
His fiery coursers thunder o'er the plains, 

The fierce Pelasgi next , in war renown'd , 
March from Larissa's ever fertile ground : 
In equal arms their brother leaders shine y 
Hippothous bold , and Pyleus the divine. 

JNext Acamas and Pyrous lead their hosts 
In dread array , from Thracia's wintry coast ; 
Round the bleak realms where Hellespontus roars, 
And Boreas beats the hoarse-resounding shores. 
With great Euphemus the Ciconians move , 
Sprung from Trcezenian Ceus , lov'd by Jove. 

Pyraechmes the Paeonian troops attend , 
Skill'd in the fight their crooked bows to bend j ■ 
From Axius' ample bed he leads them on, 
Axius , that laves the distant Amydon , 
Axius, that swells with ail his neighb'ring rills, 
And wide around the floated region fills. 



46 HOMER'S ILIAD. BOOK II. 

The Paphlagonians Pylaemenes rules, 
Where rich Heuetia breeds her savage mules ; 
"Where Erythimus* rising clifts are seen , 
The groves of box , Cytorus ! ever green ; 
And where iEgyalus and Cromma lie , 
And lofty Sesamus invades the sky ; 
And where Parthenius, roll'd thro' banks of flow'rs, 
Reflects her bordering palaces and bow'rs- 

Here march' d in arms the Halizonian band, 
Whom Odius and Epistrophus command , 
From those far regions where the sun refines 
The rip'ning silver in Albean mines. 

There, mighty Chromis led the Mysian train, 
And augur Ennomus , inspir'd in vain ; 
For stern Achilles lopt his sacred head , 
Roll'd down Scamander with the vulgar dead. 

Phorcys and brave Ascanius here unite 
Th' Ascanian Phrygians, eager for the fight. 
Of those who round Mseonia's realms reside, 
Or wnom the vales in shade of Tmolus hide, 
Mestles and Antiphus the charge partake *, 
Born on the banks of Gyges' silent lake. 
There , from the fields where wild Mseander flows, 
High Mycale , and Latmos' shady brows , 
And proud Miletus, came the Carian throngs, 
With mingled clamours , and with barb'rous tongues. 
Amphimachus and Naustes guide the train, 
INaustes the bold, Amphimachus the vain; 
Who , trick' d with gold , and glitt'ring on his car, 
Rode , like a woman , to the field of war •, 
Fool that he was! by fierce Achilles slain, 
The river swept him to the briny main : 
There whelm'd with waves the gaudy warrior lies ; 
The valiant victor seized the golden prize. 

The forces last in fair array succeed, 
Which blameless GJaucus and Sarpedon lead ; 
The warlike bands that distant Lycia yields, 
Where gulphy Xanthus foams along the fields. 



THE ARGUMENT. 

The duel of JMenelaus and Paris. 

The armies being ready to engage, a single combat is agreed 
upon between Menelaus and Paris, by the intervention of 
Hector, for the determination of the war. Iris is sent 10 
call Helena to behold the fight. She leads her to the walls 
of Troy, where Priam sat with his counsellors observing the 
Grecian lead rs on the plain below, to whom Helena gives 
an account of tlie chief of them. The kings , on either part , 
take the solemn oath for the conditions of the combat. The 
duel ensues , wherein Paris being overcome , is snatched 
away in a cloud by Venus, and transported to his apartment. 
She then calls Helena from the walls, and brings the lovers 
together. Agamemnon, on the part of the Grecians, de- 
mands the restoration of Helena, and the performance of the 
articles. 

The three and twentieth day still continues throughout this 
book. The scene is sometimes in Xhejields before Troy, and 
sometimes in Troy itself. 



THE 

ILIAD. 

BOOK III. 



J hus by their leaders' care each martial band 
Moves into ranks , and stretches o'er the land. 
With shouts the Trojans rushing from afar , 
Proclaim their motions , and provoke the war : 
So when inclement winters vex the plain 
With piercing frosts , or thick-descending rain , 
To warmer seas the cranes embody'd fly , 
With noise and order thro' the mid-way sky ; 
To pigmy nations wounds and death they bring , 
And ail the war descends upon the wing. 
But silent , breathing rage , resolv'd and skill'd 
By mutual aids to fix a doubtful field, 
Swift march the Greeks : the rapid dust around, 
Dark'ning arises from the labour'd ground. 
Thus from his flaggy wings when JNotus sheds 
A night of vapours round the mountain-heads , 
Swift-gliding mists the dusky fields invade , 
To thieves more grateful than the midnight shade : 
While scarce the swains their feeding flocks survey. 
Lost and confus'd amidst the thicken'd day : 
So wrapt in gath'ring dust , the Grecian train 
A moving cloud, swept on, and hid the plain. 
Now front to front the hostile armies stand , 
Eager of fight , and only wait command ; 
When , to the van , before the sons of fame 
Whom Troy sent forth , the beauteous Paris came : 
In form a god ! the panther's speckled hide 
Flow'd o'er his armour with an easy pride ; 
His bended bow across his shoulders flung , 
His sword beside him negligently hung; 
Two pointed spears he .shook wiih gallant grace ? 
And dar'd the bravest of the Grecian race. 



50 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

As thus with glorious air and proud disdain , 
He boldly stalk'd the foremost on the plain , 
Him Menelaus , lov'd of Mars , espies , 
With heart elated, and with joyful eyes : 
So joys a lion , if the branching deer, 
Or mountain goat his bulky prize , appear ; 
Eager he seizes , and devours the slain , 
Prest by bold youths , and baying dogs in vain. 
Thus fond of vengeance , with a furious bound , 
In clanging arms he leaps upon the ground 
From his high chariot : him , approaching near , 
The beauteous champion views with marks of fear ? 
Smit with a conscious sense , retires behind , 
And shuns the fate he well deserv'd to find. 
As when some shepherd from the rustling trees 
Shot forth to view , a scaly serpent sees •, 
Trembling and pale , he starts with wild affright , 
And all confus'd , precipitates his flight ; 
So from the king the shining warrior flies , 
And plung'd amid the thickest Trojans lies. 

As god-like Hector sees the prince retreat , 
He thus upbraids him with a generous heat ; 
« Unhappy Paris ! but to women brave ! 
So fairly fbrm'd, and only to deceive! 
Oh ! hadst thou dy'd when first thou saw'st the light , 
Or dy'd at least before thy nuptial rite!; 
A better fate than vainly thus to boast , 
And fly , the scandal of the Trojan host. 
Gods ! how the scornful Greeks exult to see 
Their fears of danger undeceiv'd in thee ! 
Thy figure promis'd with a martial air, 
But ill thy soul supplies a form so fair. 
In former days, in all thy gallant pride, 
When thy tall ships triumphant stemm'd the tide , 
When Greece beheld thy painted canvas flow , 
And crowds stood wondering at the passing show ; 
Say, was it thus, with such a baffled mien, 
You met th' approaches of the Spartan queen , 
Thus from her realm convey'd the beauteous prize , 
And * both her warlike lords outshin'd in Helen's eyes ? 

* Titeseus ami ]Menelau*. 



BOOK III. 

Tins deed, thy foes delight, thy own disgrace, 
Thy fathers grief, and ruin of thy race; 
This deed recalls thee to the proffer 1 d fight; 
Or hast thou injur'd whom thou dar'st not right! 
Soon to thy cost the field would make thee know 
Thou keep'st the consort of a hraver foe. 
Thy graceful form instilling soft desire , 
Thy curling tresses , and thy silver lyre , 
Beauty and youth, in vain to these you trust, 
When youth and beauty shall be laid in dust; 
Troy yet may wake , and one avenging blow 
Crush the ttire author of his country's woe. » 

His silence here, with blushes, Paris breaks: 
« *Tis just, my brother, what your anger speaks : 
But who , like thee , can boast a soul sedate , 
So firmly proof to all the shocks of fate ? 
Thy force , like steel , a temper'd hardness shows ♦ 
Still edg r d to wound , and still untir'd with blows , 
Like steel , uplifted by some strenuous swain , 
With falling woods to strow the wasted plain. 
Thy gifts I praise ; nor thou despise the charms 
With which a lover golden Venus arms; 
Soft moving speech, and pleasing outward show , 
±S r o wish can gain them , but the gods bestow. 
Yet , would'st thou have the proffer'd combat stand. 
The Greeks and Trojans seat on either hand; 
Then let a mid-way space our hosts divide , 
And, on that stage of war , the cause be try 1 d 
By Paris there the* Spartaa king be fought , 
For beauteous Helen and the wealth she brought ; 
And who his rival can in arms subdue , 
His be the fair , and his the treasure too. 
Thus with a lasting league your toils may cease, 
And Troy possess her fertile helds in peace ; 
Thus may the Greeks review their native shore , 
Much fam'd for generous steeds, for beauty more. j 

He said. The challenge Hector heard with joy, 
Then with his spear restrain'd the youth of Troy ; 
Held by the midst , athwart ; and near the foe 
Advanc'd with steps majestically slow. 
While round his dauntless head the Grecians pour 
Their stones and arrows in a mingled shower. 



5a KOMER^S ILIAD, 

Then thus the monarch great Atrides cry'd : 
« Forbear, ye warriors ! lay the darts aside *, 
A parley Hector asks , a message bears ; 
We know him by the various plume he wears. » 
Aw'dby his high command, the Greeks attend, 
The tumult silence , and the fight suspend. 

While from the centre Hector rolJs his eyes 
On either host , and thus to both applies : 
« Hear, all ye Trojans , all ye Grecian bands ! 
What Paris y author of the war, demands. 
Your shining swords within the sheath restrain 9 
And pitch your lances in the yielding plain. 
Here , in the^nidst , in either army's sight, 
He dares the Spartan king to single fight; 
And wills , that Helen and the ravish'd spoil , 
That caus'd the contest , shall reward the toil. 
Let these the brave triumphant victor grace , 
And differing nations part in leagues of peace, w 

He spoke : in still suspense on either side 
Each army stood : the Spartan chief reply'd : 
« Me too , ye warriors , hear, whose fatal right 
A world engages in the toils of fight. 
To me the labour of the field resign ; 
Me Paris injur'd •, all the war be mine. 
Fall he that must , beneath his rival's arms y 
And live the rest secure of future harms. 
Two lambs , devoted by your country's rite , 
To Earth a sable , to the Sun a white , 
Prepare, ye Trojans ! while a third we bring 
Select to Jove , the inviolable king. 
Let rev'rend Priam in the truce engage , 
And add the sanction of consid'rate age *, 
His sons are faithless , headlong in debate , 
And youth itself an empty wav'ring state : 
Cool age advances venerably wise , 
Turns on all hands its deep discerning eyes ; 
Sees what befcl , and what may yet befal , 
Concludes from both , and best provides for 'all. u 

The nations hear, with rising hopes possest , 
And peaceful prospects dawn in ev'ry breast. 
Within the lines they drew their steeds around , 
And from their chariots issu'd on the ground : 



BOOK Hi. O.) 

Next all unbuckling the rich mail the}- wore , 
Laid their bright arms along the sable shore; 
On either side the meeting hosts are seen , 
"With lances fix'd , and close the space between. 
Two heralds now dispatch'd to Troy, invite 
The Phrygian monarch to the peaceful rite ; 
Talthybius hastens to the fleet, to bring 
The lamb for Jove , the inviolable king. 

Meantime, to beauteous Helen, from the skies 
The various goddess of the rainbow flies; 
Like fair Laodice in form and face , 
The loveliest nymph of Priam's royal race ; 
Her in the palace at her loom she found ; 
The golden web her OAvn sad story crown'd. 
The Trojan wars she weav'd, herself the prize, 
And the dire triumphs of her fatal eyes. 
To whom the goddess of the painted bow : 
« Approach , and view the wond'rous scenes below ! 
Each hardy Greek , and valiant Trojan knight , 
So dreadful late, and furious for the fight, 
Now rest their spears , or lean upon their shields ; 
Ceas'd is the war, and silent all the fields. 
Paris aloae and Sparta's king advance , 
Tn single fight to toss the beamy lance : 
Each met in arms , the fate of combat tries , 
Thy love the motive , and thy charms the prize. » 

This said , the many-colour'd maid inspires 
Her husband's love , and wakes her former fires : 
Her country, parents , all that once were dear, 
Piush to her thought, and force a tender tear. 
O'er her fair face a snowy veil she threw , 
And , softly sighing , from the loom withdrew. 
Her handmaids Clymene and iEthra wait 
Her silent footsteps to the Seaean gate. 

There sat the seniors of the Trojan race , 
Old Priam's chiefs, and most in Priam's grace. 

The king the first ; Thymcetes at his side; 
La tripos and Clytius , long in council try'd: 
Panthus , and Hicetaon once the strong; 

And next , the wisest of the rev'rend throng . 
Anterior grave , and sage Ucalegon , 

Lean'd on the walls, and bask'd before the suit 



5'4 hosier's iltad. 

Chiefs , who no more in bloody fights engage y 

But wise thro' time , and narrative with age , 

In summer days , like grashoppers rejoice , 

A bloodless race , that send a feeble voice. 

These , when the Spartan queen approach'd the tower 7 

In secret own'd resistless beauty's power: 

They cry'd : « No wonder such celestial charms 

For nine long years have set the world in arms *, 

What winning graces ! what majestic mien ! 

She moves a goddess , and she looks a queen ! 

Yet hence , oh heav'n ! convey that fatal face , 

And from destruction save the Trojan race ! 

The good old Priam welcom'd her and cry'd : 
t< Approach , my child , and grace thy father's side. 
See on the plain tjiy Grecian spouse appears , 
The friends and kindred of thy former years ; 
3No crime of thine our present suff 'rings draws , 
]Not thou, but heav'n's disposing will, the cause ; 
The gods these armies and this force employ ; 
The hostile gods conspire the fate of Troy. 
But lift thy eyes , and say, what Greek is he , 
Far as from hence these aged orbs can see , 
Around whose brow such martial graces shine > 
So tall , so awful , and almost divine \ 
Tho' some of larger stature tread the green ? 
JNone match his grandeur and exalted mien : 
He seems a monarch , and his country's pride. » 
Thus ceas'd the king, and thus the fair reply'd i 

« Before thy presence , father , I appear 
With conscious shame and reverential fear. 
Ah ! had I dy'd , ere to these walls I fled , 
False to my country, and my nuptial bed , 
My brothers , friends , and daughter left behind y 
False to them all , to Paris only kind ! 
For this I mourn , till grief or dire disease 
Shall waste the form whose crime it was to please I 
The king of kings , Atrides , you survey, 
Great in the war, and great in arts of sway : 
My brother once before my days of shame ; 
And oh ! that still he bore a brother's name ! » 

With wonder Priam view'd the god-like man, 
Extoll'd the happy prince , and thus began : 



BOOK III. 55 

re O blest Atrides ! born to prosp'rous fate , 
Successful monarch of a mighty state I 
How vast thy empire ! of yon matchless train 
What numbers lost , what numbers yet remain ! 
In Phrygia once were gallant armies known , 
In ancient time , when Otreus fill'd the throne , 
When god-like Mygdonled their troops of horse, 
And I , to join them , rais'd the Trojan force : 
Against the manlike Amazons we stood , 
And Sangar's stream ran purple with their blood. 
But far inferior those , in martial grace , 
And strength of numbers , to this Grecian race. » 

This said, once more he view'd the warrior train : 
« What's he , whose arms lie scatter'd on the plain 3 
Broad is his breast , his shoulders larger spread , 
Tho' great Atrides overtops his head. 
Nat yet appear his care and conduct small; 
From rank to rank he moves , and orders all. 
The stately ram thus measures o'er the ground , 
And , master of the flock , surve} r s them round. » 

Then Helen thus : « Whom your discerning eyes 
Have singled out , is Ithacus the wise : 
A barren island boasts his glorious birth ; 
His fame for wisdom fills the spacious earth. » 

Antenor took the word , and thus began : 
« Myself, O king ! have seen that wond'rous niaH 9 
When , trusting Jove and hospitable laws , 
To Troy he came , to plead the Grecian cause y 
Great Menelans urg'd the same request ; 
My house was honour'd with each royal guest : 
I knew their persons , and admir'd their parts . 
Both brave in arms, and both approv'd in arts. 
Erect, the Spartan most engag'd our view ; 
Ulysses seated greater rev'rence drew. 
When Atreus' son harangu'd the list'ning train, 
Just was his sense , and his expression plain , 
His words succinct , yet full , without a fault ; 
He spoke no more than just the thing he ought. 
But when Ulysses rose , in thought profound, 
His modest eyes he fix'd upon the ground; 
As one unskill'd or dumb , he seem'd to stand , 
3Xor rais'd his head , nor stretch'd his scepter'd hand; 



56 homer's iliai>. 

But when he speaks, what elocution Hows! 
Soft as the fleeces of descending snows , 
The copious accents fall with easy art ; 
Meltingthey fall , and sink into the heart ! 
Wond'ring we hear , and fix'd in deep surprize , 
Our ears refute the censure of our eyes. » 

The king then ask'd : (as yet the camp he viewed ), 
« What chief is that , with giant strength endu'd , 
Whose brawny shoulders , and whose swelling chest , 
And lofty stature, far exceed the rest^ » 
— « Ajax the great , ( the beauteous queen reply'd), 
Himself a host : the Grecian strength and pride, 
See ! bold Idomeneus superior towers 
Amidst yon circle of his Cretan powers. 
Great as a god ! I saw him once before, 
With Menelaus, on the Spartan shore. 
The rest I know , and could in order name *, 
All valiant chiefs , and men of mighty fame. 
Yet two are wanting of the numerous train , 
Whom long my eyes have sought , hut sought in vain ; 
Castor and Pollux , first in martial force , 
One bold on foot , and one renown' d for horse , 
My brothers these ; the same our native shore ? 
One house contained us , us one mother bore. 
Perhaps the chiefs , from w r arlike toils at ease , 
For distant Troy refus'd to sail the seas : 
Perhaps their swords some nobler quarrel draws, 
Asham'd to combat in their sister's cause. » 

So spoke the fair, nor knew her brothers' doom ? 
Wrapt in the cold embraces of the tomb ; 
Adorn'dwith honours in their native shore, 
Silent they slept , and heard of wars no more. 

Meantime the heralds , thro' the crowded town ? 
Bring the rich wine and destin'd victims down. 
Ideeus' arms the golden goblets press'd , 
Who thus the venerable king address'd : 
« Arise , O father of the Trojan state ! 
The nations call , thy joyful people wait 
To seal the truce , and end the dire debate. 
Paris thy son , and Sparta's king advance , 
In measur'd lists to toss the weighty lance ; 



BOCK III. 5~ 

And who his rival shall in arms subdue, 
His be the dame , and his the treasure too. 
Thus with a lasting league our toils may cease , 
And Troy possess her fertile fields in peace *, 
So shall the Greeks review their native shore , 
Much fain'd for gen'rous steeds, for beauty more. » 

With grief he heard, and bade the chiefs prepare 
To join his milk-white coursers to the car : 
He mounts the seat, Antenor at his side ; 
The gentle steeds thro' Scaea's gates they guide *, 
Kext from the car descending on the plain, 
Amid the Grecian host and Trojan train 
Slow they proceed : the sage Ulysses then 
Arose, and with him rose the king of men. 
On either side a sacred herald stands ; 
The wine they mix , and on each monarch's hands 
Pour the full urn ; then draws the Grecian lord 
His cutlass sheaih'd beside his ponderous sword ; 
From the sign'd victims crops the curling hair ; 
The heralds part it, and the princes share*, 
Then loudly thus before th' attentive bands 
He calls the gods , and spreads his lifted hands. 

« O first and greatest Pow'r ! whom all obey, 
Who high on Ida's holy mountain sway, 
Eternal Jove ! and yon bright orb that roll 
From east to west , and view from pole to pole ! 
Thou mother earth ! and all ye living floods i 
Infernal furies , and Tartarean gods , 
Who rule the dead , and horrid woes prepare 
For perjur'd kings , and atl who falsely swear! 
Hear, and be witness. If , by Paris slain , 
Great Menelaus press the fatal plain , 
The dame and treasures let, the Trojan keep , 
And Greece returning plow the watery deep. 
If by my brother's lance the Trojan bleed , 
Be his the wealth and beauteous dame decreed : 
The appointed fine let Ilion justly pay, 
And every age record the signal day. 
Thus if the Phrygians shall refuse to yield , 
Arms must revenge , and Mars decide the field. » 

With that the chief the tender victims slew, 
And in the dust their bleeding bodies threw : 



58 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

The vital spirit issu'd at the wound , 
And left the members quiv'ring on the ground ; 
From the same urn they drink the mingled wine , 
And add libations to the pow'rs divine. 
While thus their prayers united mount the sky : 
« Hear, mighty Jove ! and hear, ye gods on high I 
And may their blood, who first the league -confouad 
Shed like this wine , distain the thirsty ground y 
May all their consorts serve promiscuous lust, 
And all their race be scatter' d as the dust ! » 
Thus either host their imprecations join'd , 
Which Jove refus'd, and mingled with the wind. 

The rites now finish'd , rev'rend Priam rose , 
And thus expressed a heait o'ercharg'd with woes: 
« Ye Greeks and Trojans , let the chiefs engage , 
But spare the weakness of my feeble age ; 
In yonder walls that object let me shun , 
Nor view the danger of so dear a son. 
Whose arms shall conquer, and what prince shall fall f 
Heaven only knows*, for heaven disposes all. » 

This said, the hoary king no longer stay'd, 
But'on his car the slaughter' d victims laid ; 
Then seiz'd the reins his gentle steeds to guide, 
And drove to Troy, Antenor at his side. 

Bold Hector and Ulysses now dispose 
The lists of combat, and the ground inclose *, 
Next to decide by sacred lots prepare, 
Who first shall launch his pointed spear in air. 
The people pray with elevated hands, 
And words like these are heard thro' all the bands, 
«< Immortal Jove , high heav'ns superior lord , 
On lofty Ida's holy mount ador'd ! 
Whoe'er involved us in this dire debate , 
Oh ! give that author of the war to fate 
And shades eternal ! let division cease , 
And joyful nations join in leagues of peace. » 

With eyes averted Hector hastes to turn 
The lots of fight and shakes the brazen urn. 
Then , Paris , thine leap'd forth ; by fatal chance 
Ordain'd the first to whirl the weighty lance. 
Both armies sat, the combat to survey, 
Beside each chief his azure armour lay> 
And round the lists the gen'rous coursers neigh. ' 



BOOK III. 5p 

The beauteous warrior now arrays for fight, 
In gilded arms magnificently bright : 
The purple cuishes clasp his thighs around , 
With flow'rs adorn'd , with silver buckles bound ; 
Lycaon's corslet his fair body drest , 
Brac'd in , and fitted to his softer breast : 
A radiant baldric , o'er his shoulders ty'd , 
Sustain'd the sword that glitter'd at his side : 
His youthful face a polish 'd helm o'erspread : 
The waving horse-hair nodded on his head ; 
His figur'd shield , a shining orb , he takes , 
And in his hand a pointed jav'lin shakes. 
With equal speed , and fir'd by equal charms , 
The Spartan hero sheaths his limbs in arms. 

Now round the lists the admiring armies stand , 
With javelins fix'd, the Greek and Trojan band, 
Amidst the dreadful vale the chiefs advance , 
All pale with rage, and shake the threat'ning lance. 
The Trojan first his shining jav'lin threw : 
Full on Atrides' ringing shield it flew T , 
Nor pierc'd the brazen orb , but with a bound 
Leap'd from the buckler, blunted on the ground-. 
Atrides then his massy lance prepares , 
In act to throw, but first prefers his pray'rs. 

« Give me, great Jove! to punish lav/less lust, 
And lay the Trojan gasping in the dust : 
Destroy th' aggressor ; aid my righteous cause ; 
Avenge the breach of hospitable laws ! 
Let this example future times reclaim , 
And guard from wrong fair friendship's holy name. » 
He said , and pois'd in air the javelin sent ; 
Thro' Paris' shield the forceful weapon went, 
His corslet pierces , and his garment rends , 
And glancing downward , near his flank descends. 
The wary Trojan bending from the blow, 
Eludes the death , and disappoints his foe : 
But fierce Atrides wav'd his sword and struck 
Full on his casque ; the crested helmet shook ; 
The brittle steel , unfaithful to his hand , 
Broke short : the fragments glitter'd on the sand, 
The raging warrior to the spacious skies 
Kais'd his upbraiding yoke and angry eyes ; 



60 HOMER^S ILIAD, 

fc Then is it vain in Jove himself to trust \ 

And is it thus the gods assist the just \ 

When crimes provoke us, heaven success denies ; 

The dart falls harmless , and the faulchion flies. » 

Furious he said , and toward the Grecian crew 

Seiz'd by the crest , th' unhappy warrior drew ; 

Struggling he follow'd, while th' em broider'd thong ; 

That ty'd his helmet, dragged the chief along. 

Then had his ruin crown'd Atrides' joy, 

But Venus trembled for the prince of Troy : 

Unseen she came, and burst the golden band, 

And left an empty helmet in his hand. 

The casque , enrag'd , amidst the Greeks he threw } 

The Greeks with smiles the polish y d trophy view. 

Then , as once more he lifts the deadly dart , 

In thirst of vengeance , at his rival's heart, 

The queen of love her favour'd champion shrouds , 

For gods can all things , in a veil of clouds. 

Rais'd from the field the panting youth she led , 

And gently laid him on the bridal bed , 

"With pleasing sweets his fainting sense renews , 

And all the dome perfumes with heav'nly dews. 

Meantime the brightest of the female kind , 
The matchless Helen o'er the wall reclin'd : 
To her, beset with Trojan beauties, came , 
In borrow'd form the laughter-loving dame : * 
•She seem'd an ancient maid, well skilPd to cull 
The snowy fleece , and wind the twisted wool. 
The goddess softly shook her silken vest , 
That shed perfumes , and whisp'ring thus addrest : 

« Haste , happy nymph ! for thee thy Paris calls 7 
Safe from the fight , in yonder lofty walls , 
Fair as a god I with odours round him spread 
He lies , and waits thee on the well-known bed ; 
3Not like a warrior parted from the fee , 
But some gay dancer in the public show. » 

She spoke , and Helen's secret soul was mov'd : 
She scorn'd the champion , but the man she lov'd. 
Fair Venus' neck , her eyes that sparkled fire, 
And breast, reveal'd the queen of soft desire. 

* Yenus. 



book in. 6 x 

Struck with her presence , sirait the lively red 

Forsook her cheek ; and, trembling, thus she said : 

« Then is it still thy pleasure to deceive ? 

And woman's frailty always to believe f 

Say, to new nations must I cross the main , 

Or carry wars to some soft Asian plain % 

For whom must Helen break her second vow I 

What other Paris is thy darling now \ 

Left to Atrides , victor in the strife , 

An odious conquest and a captive wife , 

Hence let me sail: and if thy Paris bear 

My absence ill , let Venus ease his care. 

A hand-maid goddess at his side to wait , 

Renounce the glories of thy heav'nly state , 

Be fix'd for ever to the Trojan shore, 

His spouse or slave, and mount the skies no more 

For me , to lawless love no longer led , 

I scorn the coward , and detest his bed ; 

Else should I merit everlasting shame , 

And keen reproach , from ev'ry Phrygian dame : 

111 suits it now the joys of love to know, 

Too deep my anguish , and too wild my woe. » 

Then thus incens'd , the Paphian queen replies : 
« Obey the power from whom thy glories rise : 
Should Venus leave thee , every charm must fly, 
Fade from thy cheek , and languish in thy eye. 
Cease to provoke me , least I make thee more 
The world's aversion, than their love before ; 
JN T ow the bright prize for which mankind engage , 
Then the sad victim of the public rage. » 

At this , the fairest of her sex obey'd , 
And veil'd her blushes in a silken shade j 
Unseen, and silent, from the train she moves, 
Led by the goddess of the smiles and loves. 

Arriv'd, and enter'd at the palace- gate, 
The maids officious round tlieir mistress wait ; 
Then ail dispersing, various tasks attend ; 
The queen and goddess to the prince ascend. 
Full in her Paris' sight , the queen of love 
Had plac'd the beauteous progeny of Jove ; 



62 HOMER^S ILIAD. 

Where , as be view'd her charms , she turned away 
Her glowing eyes , and thus began to say : 

« Is this the chief, who lost to sense of shame , 
Late fled the field , and yet survives his fame? 
Oh ! hadst thou dy'd beneath the righteous sword 
Of that brave man whom once I call'd my lord I 
The boaster Paris oft desir'd the day 
With Sparta's king to meet in single fray ; 
Go now, once more thy rival's rage excite ? 
Provoke Atrides , and renew the fight ; 
Yet Helen bids thee stay, lest thou unskill'd 
Should'st fall an easy conquest on the field. » 

The prince replies : « Ah ! cease , divinely fair 7 
Nor add reproaches to the wounds I bear ; 
This day the foe prevaii'd by Pal] as' power •, 
We yet may vanquish in a happier hour : 
There want not g'ods to favour us above * r 
But let the business of our life be love: 
These softer moments let delights employ, 
And kind embraces snatch the hasty joy. 
Not thus I lov r d thee, when from Sparta's shore 
My forc'd , my willing heavenly prize I bore , 
W 7 hen first entranced in Cranae's isle I lay, 
Mix'd with thy soul , and all dissolved away ! v 
Thus having spoke , th' enamour'd Phrygian boy 
Rush'd to the bed , impatient for the joy. 
Him Helen follow'd slow with bashful charms, 
And clasp'd the blooming hero in her arms. 

W T hile these to love's delicious raptures yield ? 
The stern Atrides rages round the field : 
So some fell lion whom the woods obey , 
Roars thro' the desert , and demands his prey» 
Paris he seeks , impatient to destroy , 
But seeks in vain along the troops of Troy \ 
Ev'n those had yielded to a foe so brave 
The recreant warrior hateful as the grave. 
Then speaking thus , the king of kings arose i 
« Ye Trojans , Dardans, all our generous foes, 
Hear and attest ! from heav'n with conquest crown'd ? 
Our brother's arms the just success have found : 



BOOK III. 63 

Be therefore now the Spartan wealth restored , 
Let Argive Helen own her lawful lord ; 
Th' appointed fine let Ilion justly pay, 
And age to age record this signal day. *> 

He ceas'd *, his army's loud applauses rise , 
And the long shout runs echoing thro' the skies, 



THE ARGUMENT. 



The breach of the tiiice , and the first battle. 

Th£ gods deliberate in council concerning the Trojan War; 
they agree upon the continuation of it, and Jupiter sends 
down Minerva to break the truce. She persuades Pandarus 
to aim an arrow at Menelaus, who is wounded, but cured 
by Machaon. In the mean time some of the Trojan troops 
attack the Greeks. Agememnon is distinguished in all the 
parts of a good general : he reviews the troops , and exhorts 
the leaders, some by praises, and others by reproofs. Nestor 
is particularly celebrated for his military discipline. The 
battle joins , and great numbers are slain on both sides. 

The same day continues through this , as through the last 
book , ( as it does also through the two following , and 
almost to the end of the seventh book ). The scene is wholly 
in the field before Troy. 



THE 

ILIAD. 

BOOK IV. 



A kd now Olympus' shining gates unfold ; 

The gods , with Jove , assume their thrones of gold 5 

Immortal Hebe, fresh with bloom divine, 

The golden goblet crowns with purple wine % 

"VMiile ihe full howls flow round, the flowers employ 

Their careful eyes on long-contended Troy. 

When Jove , dispos'd to tempt SaturmVs spleen , 
Thus wak'd the fury of his partial queen. 
« Two powers divine the son of Atreus aid, 
Imperial Juno , and the martial maid ; 
But high in heaven they sit , and gaze from far ; 
The tame spectators of his deeds of war. 
IVot thus fair Venus helps her favour'd knight T 
The queen of pleasures shares the toils of fight, 
Each danger wards , and constant in her care, 
Saves in the moment of the last despair. 
Her act has rescued Pans' forfeit life, 
Tho 7 great Atrides gain'd the glorious strife : 
Then say, ye powers! wKat signal issue waits 
To crown this deed, and finish all the fates? 
Shall heav'n by peace the bleeding kingdom spare , 
Or rouse the furies , and awake the war £ 
Yet , would the gods for human good provide , 
Atrides soon might gain his beauteous bride , 
Still Priam's walls in peaceful honours grow , 
And thro' his gates the crowding nations flow. » 

Thus while he spoke, the queen of heav'n enrag'd. 
And queen of war, in close consult engag'd ; 
Apart they sit , their deep design employ, 
And meditate the future woes of Troy. 
Tho' secret anger swelPd Minerva's breast , 
The prudent goddess yet her wrath supprest; 



66 homer's ILIAD, 

But Juno , impotent of passion , broke 
Her sullen silence , and with fury spoke : 

« Shall then, O tyrant of th' setherial reign ! 
My schemes, my labours, and my hopes be vain? 
Have I for this , shook Ilion with alarms , 
Assembled nations , set two worlds in arms ? 
To spread the war, T flew from shore to shore ; 
Th' immortal coursers scarce the labour bore. 
At length ripe vengeance o'er their heads impends 9 
But Jove himself the faithless race defends : 
Loth as thou art to punish lawless lust y 
Not all the gods are partial and unjust. » 

The sire whose thunder shakes the cloudy skies , 
Sighs from his inmost soul, and thus replies : 
« Oh lasting rancour! oh insatiate hate 
To Phrygia's monarch , and the Phrygian state ! 
What high offence has fir'd the wife of Jove? 
Can wretched mortals harm the powers above ? 
That Troy and Troy's whole race thouwould'st confound, 
And yon fair structures level with the ground ? 
Haste , leave the skies , fulfil thy stern desire , 
Burst all her gates , and warp her walls in fire ! 
Let Priam bleed! if yet thou thirst for more, 
Bleed all his sons , and Ilion float with gore} 
To boundless vengeance the wide realm be giv'n, 
'Till vast destruction glat the queen of heav'n ! 
So let it be, and Jove his peace enjoy, 
When heav'n no longer hears the name of Troy. 
But should this arm prepare to "wreak our hate 
On thy lov'd realms , whose guilt demands their fate , 
Presume not thou the lifted bolt to stay, 
Remember Troy, and give the vengeance way : 
For know, of all the numerous towns that rise 
Beneath the rolling sun and starry skies , 
Which gods have rais'd, or earth-born men enjoy. 
None stands so dear to Jove as sacred Troy. 
No mortals merit more distinguished grace , 
Than god-like Priam % or than Priam's race. 
Still to our name their hecatombs expire , 
And altars blaze with unextinguished fire. » 

At this the. goddess roll'd her radiant eyes , 
Then on the thund'rer fix'd them , and replies : 



BOOK IV. 67 

« Three towns are Juno's , on the Grecian plains , 
More dear than all th' extended earth contains, 
Mycenae, Argos, and the Spartan wall ; 
These thou rnay'st raze , nor I forbid their fall % 
'Tis not in me the vengeance to remove; 
The crime's sufficient that they share my love. 
Of power superior why should I complain l . 
Resent I may , hut must resent in vain. 
Yet some distinction Juno might require. 
Sprang with thyself from one celestial sire, 
A goddess born to share the realms above, 
And sty I'd the consort of the thund'ring Jove *, 
Nor thou a wife and sister's right deny ; 
Let both consent, and both by turns comply, 
So shall the gods our joint decrees obey , 
And heaven shall act as we direct the way. 
See , ready Pallas waits thy high commands , 
To raise in arms the Greek and Phrygian bands % 
Their sudden friendship by her arts ma3 r cease, 
And the proud Trojans first infringe the peace. » 

The sire of men, and monarch of the sky, 
Th' advice approv'd , and bade Minerva fly , 
Dissolve the league, and all her arts employ 
To make the breach the faithless act of Troy. 

Fir'd with the charge, she headlong urg'd her flight ? 
And shot like lightning from Olympus' height. 
As the red comet, from Saturnius sent 
To fright the nations with a dire portent 7 
A fatal sign to armies on the plain , 
Or trembling sailors on the wint'ry main , 
With sweeping glories glides along in air, 
And shakes the sparkles from its blazing hair t 
Between both armies thus , in open sight , 
Shot the bright goddess in a trail of light. 
With eyes erect the gazing hosts admire 
The pow'r descending, and the heavens on fire ! 
« The gods , ( they cried ) , the gods this signal sent, 
And fate now labours with some vast "event : 
Jove seals the league, or bloodier scenes prepares ; 
Jove, the great arbiter of peace and wars ! » 

They said, while Pallas thro' the Trojan throngs 
In shape a mortal, pass'd disguis'd along. 



68 HOMERS I LI A 04 

Like bold Laodocus her course she bent , 
Who from Antenor trac'd his high descent. 
Amidst the ranks Lycaon's son she found , 
The warlike Pandarns , for strength renown' d ; 
Whose squadrons, led from black iEsepus' flood, 
With flaming shields in martial circle stood. 

To him the goddess : « Phrygian ! canst thou ilea* 
A well-tim'd counsel with a willing ear? 
What praise were thine, could'st thou direct thy dart 
Amidst his triumph, to the Spartan's heart? 
What gifts from Troy, from Paris would'st thou gain, 
Thy country's foe , the Grecian glory slain % 
Then seize th 1 occasion , dare the mighty deed, 
Aim at his breast , and may that aim succeed f 
But first , to speed the shaft , address thy vow , 
To Lycian Phoebus with the silver bow, 
And swear the firstlings of thy flock to pay, 
On Zelia's altars to the god of day. » 

He heard , and madly at the motion pleas'd, 
His polish'd bow with hasty rashness seiz'd : 
3 Twas form'd of horn , and srnooth'd with artful toil " 7 
A mountain-goat resigned the shining spoil , 
Who piere'd long since beneath his arrows bled *, 
The stately quarry on the cliffs lay dead y 
And sixteen palms his brows large honours spread : 
The workman join'd , and shap'd the bended horns , 
And beaten gold each taper point adorns. 
This , by the Greeks unseen , the warrior bends , 
Screeri'd by the shields of his surrounding friends : 
There meditates the mark ; and couching low , 
Fits the sharp arrow to the well-strung bow. 
One from a hundred feather'd deaths he chose , 
Fated to wound , and cause of further woes ; 
Then offers vows with hecatombs to crown 
Apollo's altars in his native town. 

Now with full force the yielding horn he bends , 
Drawn to an arch , and joins the doubling ends ; 
Close to his breast he strains the nerve below, 
Till the barb'd point approach the circling bow ; 
The impatient weapon whizzes on the wing, 
Sounds the tough horn , and twangs the quiv'ring string. 



BOOK IV. 69 

But thee , Atrides ! in that dangerous hour 
The gods forget not, nor thy guardian power. 
Pallas assists , and , weaken d in its force , 
Diverts the weapon from its destined course : 
So from her habe , "vvhen slumber seals his eye, 
The watchful mother wafts th'envenom'd fly. 
Just where his belt with golden buckles join'd, 
Where linen folds the double corslet lin'd , 
She turn'd the shaft , which hissing from above , 
Pass'd the broad belt, and thro' the corslet drove \ 
The folds it pierc'd, the plaited linen tore, 
And rais'd the skin , and drew the purple gore, 
As when some stately trappings are decreed 
To grace a monarch on his bouuding steed , 
A nymph in Caria or INXseonia bred , 
Stains the pure ivory with a lively red; 
With equal lustre various colours vie , 
The shining whiteness , and the Tyrian die ; 
So , great Atrides ! show'd thy sacred blood , 
As down thy snowy thigh distill'd the streaming flood ; 
With horror seiz'd , the king of men descry'd. 
The shaft infix'd , and saw the gushing tide ; 
Nor less the Spartan fear'd , before he found 
The shining barb appear above the wound. 
Then with a sigh that heav'd his manly breast , 
The royal brother thus his grief exprest , 
And grasp'd his hand; while all the Greeks around 
With answ'ring sighs return' d the plaintive sound. 

<% Oh dear as life \ did I for this agree 
The solemn truce *, a fatal truce to thee ! 
Wert thou expos'd to all the hostile train, 
To hght for Greece , and conquer to be slain ? 
The race of Trojans in thy ruin join , 
And faith is scorn'd by all the perjur'd line. 
Not thus our vows , confirmed with wine and gore , 
Those hands we plighted , and those oaths we swore, 
Shall all be vain : when heav'n's revenge is slow, 
Jove but prepares to strike the fiercer blow. 
The day shall come , that great avenging day, 
Which Troy's proud glories in the dust shall lay ; 
When Priam's powers and Priam's self shall fail , 
And one prodigious ruin swallow all. 



70 homer's ILlAB. 

I see the god , already from the pole , 

Bare his red arm , and bid the thunder roll ; 

I see th' Eternal all his fury shed , 

And shake his iEgis o'er their guilty head. 

Such mighty woes on perjur'd princes wait ; 

But thou, alas ! deserv'st a happier fate. 

Still must I mourn the period of thy days , 

And only mourn, without my share of praise? 

Deprived of thee , the heartless Greeks no more 

Shall dream of conquests on the hostile shore ; 

Troy seiz'd of Helen , and our glory lost, 

Thy hones shall moulder on a foreign coast ; 

While some proud Trojan thus insultiug cries , 

And spurns the dust where Menelaus lies: 

Such are the trophies Greece from Uion brings, 

And such the conquest of her king of kings ! 

Lo , his proud vessels scatter'd o'er the main , 

And, unreveng'd, his mighty brother slain. 

Oh ! ere that dire disgrace shall blast my fame , 

O'erwhelm me, earth! and hide a monarch's shame, w 

He said : a leader's and a brother's fears 
Possess his soul, which thus the Spartan cheers : 
a Let not thy words the warmth of Greece abate : 
The feeble dart is guiltless of my fate : 
Stiff with the rich embroider'd work around, 
My vary'd belt repell'd the flying wound. » 

To whom the king : « My brother and my friend , 
Thus , always thus , may heav'n thy life defend ! 
Now seek some skilful hand , whose pow'rful art 
May stanch th' effusion, and extract the dart. 
Herald , be swift , and bid Machaon bring 
His speedy succour to the Spartan king ; 
Pierc'd with a winged shaft , the deed of Troy, 
The Grecian's sorrow , and the Dardan's joy. » 

With hasty zeal the swift Taltrrvbius flies ; 
Thro' the thick files he darts his searching eyes, 
And finds Machaon , where sublime he stands 
In arms encircled with his native bands. 
Then thus : « Machaon , to the king repair, 
His wounded brother claims, thy timely care ; 
Pierc'd by some Lycian or Dardaian bow, 
A grief to us, a triumph to the foe. » 



BOOK IV. fl 

The heavy tidings griev'd the godlike man ; 
Swift to his succour thro' the ranks he ran : 
The dauntless king yet standing firm he found, 
And all the chiefs in deep concern around. 
Where to the steely point the reed was join'd , 
The shaft he drew , hut left the head behind. 
Straight the broad belt with gay embroid'ry grac'd 
He loos'd ; the corslet from his breast unbrac'd ; 
Then suck'd the blood , and sov'reign balm infus'd , 
Which Chiron gave , and /Esculapius us'd. 

While round the prince the Greeks employ their care , 
The Trojans rush tumultuous to the war; 
Once more they glitter in refulgent arms ; 
Once more the fields are fill'd with dire alarms : 
Nor had you seen the king of men appear 
Confus'd , inactive , or surpris'd with fear ; 
But, fond of glory, with severe delight, 
His beating bosom claim'd the rising fight. 
No longer with his warlike steeds he stay'd, 
Or press'd the car with polish'd brass inlay'd ; 
But left Eurymedon the reins to guide ; 
The fiery coursers snorted at his side. 
On foot thro' all the martial ranks he moves , 
And these encourages, and those reproves. 
« Brave men! (he ciies, to such who boldiy dare 
Urge their swift steeds to face the coming war,) 
Your ancient valour on the foes approve ; 
Jove is with Greece , and let us trust in Jove. 
'Tis not for us , but guilty Troy to dread , 
Whose crimes sit heavy on her perjur'd head; 
Her sons and matrons Greece shall lead in chains , 
And her dead warriors strow the mournful plains. *> 

Thus with new ardour he the brave inspires ; 
Or thus the fearful with reproaches fires : 
« Shame to your country, scandal of your kind! 
Born to the fate you well deserv'd to find ! 
Why stand ye gazing round the dreadful plain 
Prepar'd for flight , but doom'd to fly in vain? 
Confus'd , and panting thus, the hunted deer 
Falls, as he flies , a victim to his fear. 
Still must ye wait the foes , and still retire 
Till yon tall vessels blaze with Trojan fire ? 



wa HOMERS ILIAD. 

Or trust ye , Jove a valiant foe shall chace , 
To save a trembling, heartless, dastard race 1 » 
This said , he staik'd with ample strides along 
To Crete's brave monarch and his martial throng : 
High at their head he saw the chief appear, 
And bold Meriones excite the rear. 
At this the king his generous joy exprest , 
And clasp' d the warrior to his armed breast : 
« Divine Idomeneus ! what thanks we owe 
To worth like thine? what praise shall we bestow I 
To thee the foremost honours are decreed , 
First in the fight and every graceful deed. 
For this , in banquets , when the gen'rous bowls 
Restore our blood , and raise the warrior's souls , 
Tho' all the rest with stated rules we bound , 
Unmix VI, unmeasur'd, are thy goblets crown'd. 
Be still thyself, in arms a mighty name *. 
Maintain thy honours, and enlarge thy fame. » 

To whom the Cretan thus his speech addrest : 
« Secure of me , O king ! exhort the rest *, 
Fix'd to thy side , in every toil I share , 
Thy firm associate in the day of war. 
But let the signal be this moment given j 
To mix in fight is all I ask of heaven. 
The field shall prove how T perjuries succeed, 
And chains or death avenge their impious deed. » 

Charm'd with his heat, the king his course pursues. 
And next the troops of either Ajax views : 
In one firm orb the bands were rang'd around*, 
A cloud of heroes blacken'd all the ground. 
Thus from the lofty promontory's brow 
A swain survey's the gathering storm below ; 
Slow from the main the heavy vapours rise , 
Spread in dim streams, and sail along the skies, 
Till black as night the swelling tempest shows, 
The cloud condensing as the west wind blows : 
He dreads th' impending storm , and drives his floe* 
To the close covert of an arching rock. 

Such , and so thick , th' embattled squadrons stood , 
With spears erect , a moving iron wood : 
A shady light was shot from glittering shields, 
And their brown arms ohscm'd the dusky fields. 



^BGOK IV* 73 

-rtO heroes! worthy such a dauntless train, 
Whose godlike virtue we hut urge in vain , 
( Exclaim'd the king ) , who raise your eager bands 
With great examples, more than loud commands. 
Ah ! would the gods hut breathe in all the rest 
Such souls as burn in your exalted breast ! 
Soon should our arms with just success be crown'd , 
And Troy's proud walls lie smoking on the ground. » 

Then to the next the general bends his course ; 
His heart exults , and glories in his force ; 
There reverend Nestor ranks his Pylian bands , 
And with inspiring eloquence commands ; 
With strictest orders sets his train in arms , 
The chiefs advises , and the soldier warms. 
Alastor, Ghromius, Hsemon, round him wait, 
Bias the good, and Pelagon the great. 
The horse and chariots to the front assigned , 
The foot , the strength of war , he rang'd behind ; 
The middle space suspected troops supply, 
Inclos'd by both , nor left the power to fly : 
He gives command to curb the fiery steed, 
Nor cause confusion, nor the ranks exceed. 
« Before the rest let none too rashly ride ; 
No strength nor skill, but just in time, be try'd : 
The charge once made, no warrior turn the rein, 
But fight, or fall, a firm embody'd train. 
He whom the fortune of the field shall cast 
From forth his chariot , mount the next in haste ; 
Nor seek unpractis'd to direct the car, 
Content with javelins to provoke the war. 
Our great forefathers held this prudent course , 
Thus rul'd their ardour , thus preserved their force ; 
By laws like these immortal conquest made , 
And earth's proud tyrants low in ashes laid. » 

So spoke the master of the martial art , 
And touch'd with transport great Atrides' heart. 
«Oh ! had'st thou strength to match thy brave desires, 
And nerves to second what thy soul inspires ! 
But wasting years , that v. iilier human race , 
Exhaust thy spirits, and thy arras unbrace. 
What once thou wert, oh ever might'st thou be ! 
And age the lot of any chief but thee. » 



y4 homer's ILIAD, 

Thus to th' experienc'd prince Atrides cry'd ; 
He shook his hoary locks , and thus reply'd : 
« Well might I wish , could mortal wish renew 
That strength which once in boiling youth I knew ; 
Such as I was , when Ereuthalion slain 
Beneath this arm fell prostrate on the plain. 
But heaven its gifts not all at once bestows , 
These years with wisdom crowns , with actions those ; 
The field of combat fits the young and bold , 
The solemn council best becomes the old; 
To you the glorious conflict I resign, 
Let sage advice, the palm of age, be mine. » 

He said. With joy the monarch march'd before, 
And found Meiiestheus on the dusky shore , 
With whom the firm Athenian phalanx stands ; 
And next Ulysses with his subject bands. 
Remote their forces lay, nor knew so far 
The peace infring'd , nor heard the sounds of war ; 
The tumult late begun , they stood intent 
To watch the motion , dubious of th' event. 
The king , who saw their squadrons yet unmov'd , 
With hasty ardour thus the chiefs reprov'd : 

« Can Feteus' son forget a warrior's part , 
And fears Ulysses , skill'd in every art? 
Why stand you distant , and the rest expect 
To mix in combat which yourselves neglect? 
From you 'twas hop'd among the first to dare 
The shock of armies, and commence the war. 
For this your names are call'd, before the rest, 
To share the pleasures of the genial feast : 
And can you , chiefs ! without a blush survey 
Whole troops before you lab'ring in the fray ! 
Say, is it thus those honours we requite ? 
The first in banquets , but the last in fight. » 

Ulysses heard ; the hero's warmth o'erspread 
His cheek with blushes •, and severe, he said : 
« Take back th' unjust reproach ! Behold we stand 
Sheaih'd in bright arms, and but expect command ; 
If glorious deeds afford thy soul delight , 
Behold me plunging in the thickest fight. 
Then give thy warrior-chief a warrior's due , 
Who dares to act whate'er thou dar'st to view. » 



BOOK IV. j5 

Struck with his generous wrath , the king replies : 

« Oh ! great in action , and in council wise ! 

With ours , thy care and ardour are the same , 

Nor need I to command , nor ought to blame. 

Sage as thou art, and learn'd in human kind , 

Forgive the transport of a martial mind. 

Haste to the tight , secure of just amends ; 

The gods that make , shall keep the worthy friends. » 
He said, and pass'd where great Tydides lay, 

His steeds and chariots wedg'd in firm array ; 

The warlike Sthenelus attends his side , 

To whom with stern reproach the monarch cry'd : 

<i Oh son of Tydeus ! he whose strength could tame 

The bounding steed, in arms a mighty name , 

Canst thou , remote , the mingling hosts descry, 

With hands inactive, and a careless eye? 

Not thus thy sire the fierce encounter fear'd ; 

Still first in front the matchless prince appeared : 

What glorious toils, what wonders they recite, 

Who view'd him lab'ring thro' the ranks of fight! 

I saw him once , when gathering martial power, 

A peaceful guest , he sought Mycenae's tower; 

Armies he ask'd , and armies had been given , 

Not we deny'd, but Jove forbade from heaven; 

While dreadful comets glaring from afar, 

Forewarn' d the horrors of the Theban war. 

Next , sent by Greece from where Asopus flows , 

A fearless envoy, he approach'd the foes ; 

Thebe's hostile walls , unguarded and alone , 

Dauntless he enters , and demands the throne. 

The tyrant feasting with his chiefs he found , 

And dar'd to combat all these chiefs around ; 

Dar'd and subdu'cl before their haughty lord ; 

For Pallas strung his arm . and edg'd his sword. 

Stung with the shame, within the winding way, 

To bar his passage fifty warriors lay ; 

Two heroes led the secret squadron on , 

Mceou the fierce , and hardy Lycophon ; 

Those fifty slaughter'd in the gloomy vale, 

He spar'd but one to bear the dreadful tale. 

Such Tj r deus was, and such his martial fire; 

Gods ! how the son degenerates from the sire?» 



76 HOMERS ILIAD. 

No words the godlike Diomed returned, 
But heard respectful , and in secret burn'd; 
Not so fierce Capaneus' undaunted son ; 
Stern as his sire , the boaster thus begun: 

« What needs, O monarch! this invidious praise, 
Ourselves to lessen , while our sires you raise? 
Dare to be just , Atrides ! and confess 
Our valour equal , tho' our fury less. 
"With fewer troops we storm'd the Theban wall , 
And happier saw the sevenfold city fall. 
In impious act the guilty fathers dy'd ; 
The sons subdued, for heaven was on their side. 
Far more than heirs of all our parents 7 fame , 
Our glories darken their diminish'd name. » 

To him Tydides thus : c< My friend , forbear, 
Suppress thy passion , and the king revere : 
His high concern may well excuse this rage , 
Whose cause we fellow, and whose war we wage ; 
His the first praise , were Ilions towers o'erthrown , 
And , if we fail , the chief disgrace his own. 
Let him the Greeks to hardy toils excite , 
'Tis ours to labour in the glorious fight. » 

He spoke , and ardent , on the trembling ground 
Sprung from his car : his ringing arms resound. 
Dire was the clang, and dreadful from afar, 
Of arm'd Tydides rushing to the war. 
As when the winds , ascending by degrees , 
First move the whitening surface of the seas , 
The billows float in order to the shore , 
The wave behind rolls on the wave before ; 
Till , with the growing storm , the deeps arise , 
Foam o'er the rocks , and thunder to the skies. 
So to the fight the thick battalions throng, 
Shields urg'd on shields, and men drove men along. 
Sedate and silent move the numerous bands ; 
No sound , no whisper, but the chiefs commands, 
Those only heard ; with awe the rest obey, 
As if some god had snatch'd their voice away. 
Not so the Trojans j from their host ascends 
A general shout that all the region rends. 
As when the fleecy flocks unnumber'd stand 
In wealthy folds, and wait the milker's hand ; 



BOOK IV. 77 

The hollow vales incessant bleating fills , 
The lambs reply from all the neighb'ring hills; 
Such clamours rose from various nations round , 
Mix'd w^s the murmur, and confus'd the sound. 
Each host now joins, and each a god inspires , 
These Mars incites , and those Minerva fires. 
Pale flight around, and dreadful terror reign ; 
And Discord raging Lathes the purple plain : 
Discord ! dire sister of the slaughtering power, 
Small at her birth , but rising every hour, 
While scarce the skies her horrid head can bound , 
She stalks on earth , and shakes the world around ; 
The nations bleed where'er her steps she turns, 
The groan still deepens , and the combat burns. 

Now shield with shield , with helmet helmet cios'd , 
To armour armour, lance to lance oppos'd, 
Host against host with shadowy squadrons drew, 
The sounding darts in iron tempests flew. 
Victors and vanquished join promiscuous cries , 
And shrilling shouts and dying groans arise ; 
With streaming blood the slippery fields are dy'd , 
And slaughter'd heroes swell the dreadful tide. 

As torrents roll, increas'd by numerous rills , 
With rage impetuous down their echoing hills; 
Rush to the vales, and pour'd along the plain. 
Roar thro' a thousand channels to the main ; 
The distant shepherd trembling hears the sound, 
So mix both hosts, and so their cries rebound. 

The bold Aritilochus the slaughter led , 
The first who struck a valiant Trojan dead; 
At great Echepolus the lance arrives , 
Raz'd his high crest, and thro' his helmet drives; 
Warm'd in the brain the brazen weapon lies , 
And shades eternal settle o'er his eyes. 
So sinks a tower, that long assaults had stood 
Of force and fire; its walls besmear'd with blood. 
Him , the bold leader * of th' Abantian throng 
Seiz'd to despoil , and dragg'd the corpse along : 
But while he strove to tug th' inserted dart , 
Agenor's javelin reach'd the hero's heart. 

* Elphenor. 



78 HOMERS ILIAD. 

His flank, unguarded by his ample shield, 
Admits the lance : he falls , and spurns the field ; 
The nerves unhrac'd support his limbs no more ; 
The soul comes floating in a tide of gore. 
Trojans and Greeks now gather round the slain \ 
The war renews , the warriors bleed again ; 
As o'er their prey rapacious wolves engage , 
Man dies on man, and all is blood and rage. 

In blooming youth fair Simoisius fell, 
Sent by great Ajax to the shades of hell : 
Fair Simoisius . whom his mother bore 
Amid the flocks on silver Simois' shore : 
The nymph descending from the hills of Ide , 
To seek her parents on his flowery side , 
Brought forth the babe , their common care and joy, 
And thence from Simois nam'd the lovely boy. 
Short was his date! by dreadful Ajax slain, 
He falls, and renders all their cares in vain! 
So falls a poplar, that in watery ground 
ftais'd high (behead, with stately branches erown'd , 
Feli'd by some artist with his shining steel, 
To shape the circle of the bending wheel , 
Cut down it lies ; tall, smooth , and largely spread , 
With all its beauteous honours on its head ; 
There left a subject to the wind and rain , 
And scorch'd by suns, it withers on the plain. 
Thus pierc'd by Ajax, Simoisius lies 
Stretch'd on the shore , and thus neglected dies. 

At Ajax Antiphus his javelin threw ; i 

The pointed lance with erring fury flew, •> 

And Leucus, lov'd by wise Ulysses, slew. K 

He drops the corpse of Simoisius slain, 
And sinks a breathless carcase on the plain. 
This saw Ulysses , and with grief enrag'd , 
Strode where the foremost of the foes engaged : 
Arm'd with his spear, he meditates the wound , 
In act to throw *, but cautious , look'd around. 
Struck at his sight , the Trojans backward drew, 
And trembling heard the javelin as it flew. 
A chief stood nigh who from Abydos came , 
Old Priam's son, Democoon was his name-, 



book iv* 79 

The weapon entcr'd close above his ear, 
Cold thro' his temples glides the whizzing spear; 
With piercing shrieks the youth resigns his breath , 
His eye-balls darken with the shades of death; 
Ponderous he falls ; his clanging arras resound , 
And his broad buckler tings against the ground. 

Seiz'd with affright the boldest foes appear ; 
Even godlike Hector seems himself to fear ; 
Slow he gave way, the rest tumultuous fled ; 
The Greeks with shouts press on, and spoil the dead. 
But Phoebus now from Ilion's towering height 
Shines forth reveal'd , and animates the fight. 
« Trojans! be bold , and force with force oppose ; 
Your foaming steeds urge headlong on the foes ! 
Nor are their bodies rocks , nor ribb'd with steel ; 
Your weapons enter, and jour strokes they feel. 
Have ye forgot what seem'd your dread before $ 
The great , the fierce Achilles fights no more. » 

Apollo thus from Ilion's lofty towers , 
Array'd in terrors, rouz'd the Trojan powers, 
While war's fierce goddess fires the Grecian foe ? 
And shouts and thunders in the fields below. 
Then great Diores fell , by doom divine , 
Jn vain his valour, and illustrious line. 
A broken rock the force of Pirus threw, 
Who from cold iEnus led the Thracian crew ; 
Full on his ancle dropt the ponderous slone , 
Burst the strong nerves , and crash'd the solid bone * 
Supine he tumbles on the crimson'd saQds , ^ 

Before his helpless friends, and native bands, 
And spreads for aid his unavailing hands. ' 

The foe rush'd furious as ho pants for breath , 
And thro' his navel drove the pointed death : 
His gushing entrails smok'd upon the ground , 
And the warm life came issuing from the v. ; ■ 

His lance bold Thoas at the conqueror sent , 
Deep in his breast , above the pap it went , 
Amid the luugs was fix'd the winged wood, 
And quiveriug in his heaving bosom stood : 
Till from the dying chief approaching near, 
Th'/Etolion warrior tugg'd his weighty speav ; 



8o 

Then sudden wav'd his flaming faulchion round , 
And gash'd his belly with a ghastly wound : 
The corpse now breathless on the bloody plain ,- ' 
To spoil his arms the victor strove in vain ; 
The Thracian bands against the victor press'* d ; 
A grove of lances glitter' d at his breast. 
Stern Thoas , glaring with revengeful eyes , 
In sullen fury slowly quits the prize. 

Thus fell two heroes ; one the pride of Thrace ? 
And one the leader of th' Epeian race : 
Death's sable shade at once o'ercast their eyes, 
In dust the vanquish'd and the victor lies. 
With copious slaughter all the fields are red , 
And heap'd with growing mountains of the dead. 

Had some brave chief this martial scene beheld^ 
By Pallas guarded thro' the dreadful field ; 
. Might darts be bid to turn their points away, 
And swords around him innocently play, 
The war's whole art with wonder he had seen, 
And counted heroes where he counted men. 

So fought each host, with thirst of glory fir'd f 
And crowds on crowds triumphantly expir'd, 



THE A R G U M E N TV 

The acts of Diomed, 

DlOMED, assisted by Pallas , performs wonders in this day's 
battle. Pandarus wounds lain with an arrow, but the goddess 
cures him , enables him to discern gods from mortals , and 
prohibits him from contending with any of the former, ex- 
cepting Venus. AEneas joins Pandarus to oppose him \ Pan- 
darus is killed, and AEneas in great danger but for the as- 
sistance of Venus , who , as she is removing her son from 
the fight , is wounded on the hand by Diomed. Apoilo se- 
conds her in his rescue , and at length carries off AEneas 

. to Tr>y, where he is healed in the temple of Pergamus. 
Mars rallies the Trojans, and assists Hector to make a stand. 
In the mean time AEneas is restored to the field, and they 
overthrow several of the Greeks ; among the rest Tlepolemus 
is slain by Sirpedon. Juno and Minerva descend to resist 
Mars ; the latter incites Diomed to go gainst that god j he 
wounds him , and sends him groaning to heaven. 

The first battle continues through this book. The scene is the 
same as in the former. 



T H E 

ILIAD. 

BOOK V. 



JSut Pallas now Tydides' soul inspires , 

Fills with her force, and warms with all her fires; 

Above the Greeks his deathless fame to raise, 

And crown her hero with distinguished praise, 

High on his helm celestial lightnings play, 

His beamy shield emits a living ray ; 

Th' unweary'd blaze incessant streams supplies , 

Like the red star that fires th' autumnal skies , 

When fresh he fears his radiant orb to sight , 

And bath'd in ocean, shoots a keener light. 

Such glories Pallas on the chief beslow'd: 

Such from his arms the fierce effulgence flcw'd : 

Onward she drives him , furious to engage , 

Where the fight burns ^ and where the thickest rage. 

The sons of Dares first the combat sought f 
A wealthy priest, but rich without a fault ; 
In Vulcan's fane the father's days were led ; 
The sons to toils of glorious battle bred ; 
These singled from their troops the fight maintain, 
These from their steeds, Tydides on the plain. 
Fierce for renown, the brother-chiefs draw near, 
And first bold 1 hegcus cast his sounding spear, 
Which o'er the warrior's shoulder took its coarse , 
And spent in empty air its erring force. 
IVot sc , Tydides , flew thy la ice in vain , 
But pieic'd his breast , and stretch'd him on the plain. 
Seiz'd with unusual fear, Idaeus fled, 
Left the rich chariot, and his brother dead. 
And had not Vulcan lent celestial aid . 
He too had su;ik to death's eternal shade *, 
Eat in a smoky cloud the god of fire 
Piesery'd the son in pity to the sire- 



8 4 

The steeds and chariot, to the navy led, 
Inereas'd the spoils of gallant Dionied. 

Struck with amaze, and sharae, the Trojan crew y 
Or slain, or fled , the sons of Dares view ; 
When hy the blood-stain'd hand Minerva prest 
The god of battles , and this speech addrest: 

« Stern power of war ! by whom the mighty fall f 
"Who bathe in blood , and shake the lofty wall ! 
Let the brave chiefs their glorious toils divide , 
And whose the conquest mighty Jove decide : 
While we from interdicted fields retire , 
Nor tempt the wrath of heaven's avenging Sire. » 
Ker words altay'd th' impetuous warrior's heat , 
The god of arms and martial maid retreat ; 
Remov'd from fight , on Xanthus' flowery bounds 
They sat, and listen'd to the dying sounds. 

Meantime the Greeks the Trojan race pursue, 
And some bold chieftain every leader slew ; 
First Odius falls , and bites the bloody sand, 
His death ennobled by Atrides' hand ; 
As he to flight his wheeling car addrest, 
The speedy javelin drove from back to breast. 
In dust the mighty Haiizonian lay, 
His arms resound , the spirit wings its way. 

Thy fate was next, O Phcestus! doom'd to feel 
The great Idomeneus' portended steel ; 
Whom Bonis sent, his son and only joy, 
From fruitful Tarne to the fields of Troy: 
The Cretan javelin reach'd him from afar, 
And piere'd his shoulder as he mounts his car ; 
Back from the car he tumbles to the ground , 
And everlasting shades his eyes surround. 

Then dy'd Scamandrius , expert in the chace , 
In woods and wilds to wound the savage race ; 
Diana taught him all her sylvan arts , 
To bend the bow , and aim unerring darts : 
But vainly here Diana's arts he tries , 
The fatal lance arrests him as he flies ; 
From Menelaus' arm the weapon sent , 
Thro' his broad back and heaving bosom went : 
Down sinks the warrior with a thundering sound, 
His brazen armour rings against the ground. 



BOOK V. 85 

Next artful Phereclus untimely fell ; 
Bold Merion sent him to the realms of hell. 
Thy father's skill , O Phereclus , was thine , 
The graceful fahric , and the fair design •, 
For , lov 7 d by Pallas , Pallas did impart 
To him the shipwright's and the builder's art. 
Beneath his hand the fleet of Paris rose , 
The fatal cause of all his country's woes ; 
But he , the mystic will of heaven unknown, 
Nor saw his country's peril , nor his own. 
The hapless artist, while confus'd he fled, 
The spear of Merion mingled with the dead. 
Thro' his right hip , with forceful fury cast , 
Between the bladder and the bone it past : 
Prone on his knees he falls with fruitless cries , 
And death in lasting slumber seafc his eyes. 

From Meges' force the swift Pedseus fled , 
Antenor's offspring from a foreign bed, 
Whose generous spouse , Theano , heavenly fair, 
Nurs'd the young stranger with a mother's care. 
How vain those cares ! when Meges in the rear 
Full in his nape infix'd the fatal spear ; 
Swift thro' his crackling jaws the weapon glides , 
And the cold tongue and grinning teeth divides. 

Then dy'd Hypsenor, generous and divine , 
Sprung from the brave Dolopion's mighty line , 
Who near ador'd Scamander made abode , 
Priest of the stream, and honour'd as a god. 
On him , amidst the flying numbers found, 
Eurypylus inflicts a deadly wound ; 

On his broad shoulder fell the forceful brand, ) 

Thence glancing downward lopp'd his hoi} 7 hand _, ) 

Which stain'd with sacred blood the blushing sand. ] 

Down sunk the priest : the purple hand of death 
Clos'd his dim eye , and fate suppress'd his breath. 

Thus toil'd the chiefs , in different parts engag'd : 
In every quarter fierce Tydides rag'd, 
Amid the Greek , amid the Trojan train , 
Rapt thro' the ranks he thunders o'er the plain ; 
Now here, now there , he darts from place to place, 
Pours on the rear, or lightens in their face. 



86 

Thus from high hills the torrents swift and strong 
Deluge whole fields, and sweep the trees along ; 
Thro 7 ruin'd moles the rushing wave resounds , 
O'erwhelms the bridge, and bursts the lofty bounds *, 
The yellow harvests of the ripen'd year, 
And flatted vineyards , one sad waste appear ; 
While Jove descends in sluicy sheets of rain, 
And all the labours of mankind are vain. 

So rag'd Tydides, boundless in his ire , 
Drove armies back , and made all Troy, retire. 
With grief the leader* of the Lycian band 
Saw the wide waste of his destructive hand : 
His bended bow against the cbief he drew ; 
Swift to the mark the thirsty arrow flew , 
Whose forky point the hollow breast-plate tore , 
Deep in his shoulder j^jerc'd , and drank the gore ! 
The rushing stream his brazen armour dy'd , 
While the proud archer thus exulting cry'd: 

« Hither, ye Trojans, hither drive your steeds! 
Lo! by our hand the bravest Grecian bleeds. 
Not long the deathful dart he can sustain ; 
Or Phoebus urg'd me to these fields in vain. » 

So spoke he , boastful *, but the winged dart 
Stopt short of life , and moek'd the shooter's art, 
The wounded chief behind his car retir'd, 
The helping hand of Sthenelus requir'd ; 
Swift from his seat he leap'd upon the ground , 
And tugg'd the weapon from the gushing wound *, 
When thus the king his guardian power addrest , 
The purple current wandering o'er his vest. 

c< O progeny of Jove ! unconquer'd maid ! 
If e'er ray godlike sire deserv'd thy aid , 
If e'er I felt thee in the fighting field ; 
Now, goddess , now, thy sacred succour yield : 
Oh! give my lance to readi the Trojan knight, 
Whose arrow wounds the chief thou gnard'st in fight; 
And lay the boaster groveling on the shore, 
That vaunts these eyes shall view the light no more. » 

Thus pray'd Tydides . and Minerva heard , 
His nerves confirm' d , his languid spirits cheei'd ; 

* Paadarus. 



BOOK V. 87 

He feels each liinb with wonted vigour light; 
His beating bosom claims the promis'd light. 
« Be bold (she cry'd), in every combat shine, 
War be thy province, thy protection mine; 
Rush to the fight, and every foe controul; 
Wake each paternal virtue in thy soul : 
Strength swells thy boiling breast , infus'd by me , 
And all thy godlike father breathes in thee ! 
Yet more , from mortal mists I purge thy eyes , 
And set to view the warring deities. 
These see thou shun , thro' all th' embattled plain, 
Nor rashly strive where human force is vain. 
If Venus mingle in the* martial band, 
Her shalt thou wound : so Pallas gives command. » 

With that , the blue-ey'd virgin wing'd her flight, 
The Hero rush'd impetuous to the fight ; 
With tenfold ardour now 7 invades the plain , 
W T iId with delay, and more enrag'd by pain. 
As on the fleecy flocks, when hunger calls, 
Amidst the field a brindled lion falls ; 
If chance some shepherd with a distant dart, 
The savage wound , be rouses at the smart , 
He foams , he roars ; the shepherd dares not stay, 
But trembling leaves the scattering flocks a prey. 
Heaps fall on heaps; he bathes with blood the ground, 
Then leaps victorious o'er the lofty mound. 
IVot with less fury stern Tydides flew , 
And two brave leaders at an instant slew ; 
A sty nous breathless fell , and by his side 
His people's pastor, good Hypenor, dy'd; 
Astynous' breast the deadly lance receives , 
Hypenor's shoulder his broad faulchion cleaves. 
Those slain he left ; and sprung with noble rage 
Abas and Polydius to engage ; 
Sons of Eurydamas , who, wise and old, 
Could fates foresee , and mystic dreams unfold ; 
The youths returned not from the doub.ful plain, 
And the sad father try'd his arts in vain ; 
No mystic dreams couJd make their fates appear , 
Tho' now determined hy Tydiies' spear. 

Young Xanthus next, and Thoon felt his rage, 
The joy and hope of Phaenop's feeble age ; 



88 

Vast was his wealth , and these ihe only heirs 

Of all his labours and a life of cares ; 

Cold death o'ertakes them in their blooming years , 

And leaves their father's unavailing tears : 

To strangers now descends his wealthy store , 

TJbe race forgotten, and the name no more. 

Two sons of Priam in one chariot ride , 
Glittering in arms , and combat side by side. 
As when the lordly lion seeks his food , 
Where grazing heifers range the lonely wood , 
He leaps amidst them with a furious bound, 
Bends their strong necks, and tears them to the ground 
So from their seats the brother chiefs are torn. 
Their steeds and chariot to the navy borne. 

With deep concern , divine iEneas view'd 
The foe prevailing , and his friends pursued; 
Thro' the thick storm of singing spears he flies , 
Exploring Pandarus with careful eyes. 
At length he found Lycaon's mighty son ; 
To whom the chief of Venus' race begun : 

« Where, Pandarus, are all thy honours now. 
Thy winged arrows and unerring bow, 
Thy matchless skill, thy yet unrival'd fame, 
And boasted glory of the Lycian name? 
Oh ! pierce that mortal ! if we mortal call 
That wonderous force by which whole armies fall ; 
Or god incens'd, who quits the distant skies 
To punish Troy for slighted sacrifice ; 
W' hich , oh avert from our unhappy state ! 
For what so dreadful as celestial hate ! 
Whoe'er he be, propitiate Jove with prayer; 
If man , destroy •, if god , intreat to spare. » 

To him the Lycian : « Whom your eyes behold , 
If right I judge , is Diomed the bold. 
Such coursers whirl him o'er the dusty field , 
So towers his helmet , and so flames his shield. 
If 'tis a god, he wears that chief's disguise; 
Or if that chief, some guardian of the skies, 
Involv'd in clouds, protects him in the fray, 
And turns unseen the frustrate dart away. 
I wing'd an arrow, which not idly fell , 
The stroke had fix'd him to the gates of hell ; 



BOOK V. 8f) 

And , but some god , some angry god withstands , 
His fate was due to these unerring hands. 

a Skill'd in the how , on foot I sought the war, 
Nor join'd swift horses to the rapid car. ^ 

Ten polish'd chariots I possess'd at home, 
And still they grace Lycaon's princely dome : 
There veil'd in spacious corvelets they stand ; 
And twice ten coursers wait their lord's command. 
The good old warrior bade me trust to these , 
When first for Troy I sail'd the sacred seas ; 
In fields , aloft , the whirling car to guide , 
And thro' the ranks of death triumphant ride. 
But vain with youth , and yet to thrift inclin'd , 

I heard his counsels with unheedful mind , 

And thought the steeds , your large supplies unknown , 

Might fail of forage in the straiten' d town : 

So took my bow and pointed darts in hand, 

And left the chariots in my native land. 

» Too late , O friend ! my rashness I deplore ; 

These shafts, once fatal, carry death no more. 

Tydeus' and Ati eus' sons their points have found , 

And undiscembled gore pursu'd the wound. 

In vai.i.they bled : this unavailing bow 

Serves , not to slaughter, but provoke the foe. 

In evil hour these bonded horns I strung , 

And seiz'd ihe quiver where it idly hung. 

Cnrs'd be the fate that sent me to the field , 

Without a warrior's arms , the spear and shield! . 

If e'er with life I quit the Trojan plain , 

If e'er I see my spouse and sire again , 

This bow , unfaithful to my glorious aims , 

Broke by my hand , shall feed the blazing flames. » 
To whom the leader of the Dardan race : 

«Be calm, nor Phoebus' honour' d gift disgrace. 

The distant dart be prais'd , tho' here we need 

The rushing chariot and the bounding steed. 

Against yon hero let us bend our course , 

And , hand to hand, encounter force with force. 

jNow mount my seat, and from the chariot's height 

Observe my father's steeds, renown'd in fight *, 

Practis'd alike to turn , to stop , to chace , 

To dare the shock , or urge the rapid race : 



pO HOMER'S ILIAD. 

Secure with these , thro' fighting fields we go , 

Or safe to Troy, if Jove assist the foe. 

Haste, seize the whip, and snatch the guiding rein: 

The warrior's fury let this arm sustain ; 

Or, if to combat ihy hold heart incline , 

Take thou the spear, the chariot's care be mine. » 
— « O prince! ( Lycaon's valiant son reply'd ) , 

As thine the steeds , be thine the task to guide. 

The horses practis'd to their lord's command ? 

Shall bear the rein, and answer to thy hand. 

But if, unhappy, we desert the fight, 

Thy voice alone cau animate their flight ; 

Else shall our fates be number'd with the dead , 

And these , the victor's prize , in triumph led. 

Thine be the guidance then; with spear and shield 

Myself will charge this terror of the field. » 

And now boih heroes moupt the glittering car •, 

The bounding coursers rush amidst the war. 

Their first approach bold Sthenelus espy'd , 

Who thus , alarm'd , to great Tydides cry'd : 

« O friend ! two chiefs of force immense I see , 
Dreadful they come , and bend their rage on thee : 

Lo ! the brave heir of old Lycaon's line , 

And great iEneas , sprung from race divine ! 

Enough is given to fame, ascend thy car, 
And save a life , the bulwark of our war. » 

At this the hero cast a gloomy look , 
Fix'd on the chief with scorn, and thus he spoke : 

« Me dost thou bid to shun the coming fight \ 
Me would'st thou move to base inglorious flight ? 
Know, 'tis not honest in my soul to fear. 
Nor was Tydides born to tremble here. 
I hate the cumbrous chariot's slow advance , 
And the long distance of the flying lance ; 
But while my nerves are strong, my force entire , 
Thus front the foe , and emulate my sire. 
Nor shall yon steeds that fierce to fight convey 
Those threatening heroes, bear them both awa\' , 
One chief at least beneath this arm shall die , 
So Pallas tells me , and forbids to fly. 
But if she dooms , and if no god withstand , 
That both shall fall by one victorious hand ; 



BOOK V. 91 

Then heed my words : ray horses here detain , 

Fix'd to the chariot by the straiten'd rein *, 

Swift to iEneas' empty seat proceed , 

And seize the coursers of sethereal breed. 

The race of those , which once the thundering god 

For ravish'd Ganymede on Tros bestow'd, 

The best that e'er on earth's broad surface run, 

Beneath the rising or the setting sun. 

Hence great Anchises stole a breed , unknown , 

By mortal mares , from fierce Laomedon : 

Four of this race his ample stalls contain , 

And two transport iEneas o'er the plain. 

These , were the rich immortal prize our own , 

Thro' the wide world should make our glory known. » 

Thus while they spoke , the foe came furious on , 
And stern Lycaon's warlike race begun. 

« Prince, thou art met. Tho' late in vain assail'd , 
The spear may enter where the arrow fail'd. » 

He said , then shook the ponderous lance , and flung ; I 
On his broad shield the sounding weapon rung , £ 

Pievc'd the tough orb, and in his cuirass hung. j 

« He bleeds ! the pride of Greece ! ( the boaster cries) 
Our triumph now, the mighty warrior lies ! » 
— « Mistaken vaunter! Diomed reply'd , 
Thy dart has err'd , and now my spear be try'd : 
Ye 'scape not both ; one , headlong from his car, 
With hostile blood shall glut the god of war. u 

He spoke , and rising , hurl'd his forceful darl , 
Which , driven by Pallas , piere'd a vital part ; 
Full in his face it enter'd , and betwixt 
The nose and eye-ball the proud Lycian fixt; 
Crash'd all his jaws, and cleft the tongue within, 
Till the bright point look'd out beneath the chin; 
Headlong he falls , his helmet knocks the ground ; 
Earth groans beneath him , and his arms resound : 
The starting coursers tremble with affright ; 
The soul indignant seeks the realms of night. 

To guard his slaughter'd friend /Eneas flies , 
His spear extending where the carcase lies ; 
Watchful he wheels , protects it every way, 
As the grim lion stalks around his prey. 



(^ HOMER'S ILIAD. 

O'er the fallen trunk his ample shield display'd ; 

He hides the hero with his mighty shade , 

And threats aloud : the Greeks with longing eyes 

Behold at distance , hut forhear the prize. 

Then fierce Tydides stoops; and from the fields, 

Heav'd with vast force , a rocky fragment wields* 

Not two strong men th' enormous weight could raise, 

Such men as live in these degenerate days. 

He swung it round ; and gathering strength to throw, 

Discharg'd the ponderous ruin at the foe. 

Where to the hip th' inserted thigh unites, 

Full on the hone the pointed marhle lights ; 

Thro' both the tendons broke the rugged stone , 

And stripp'd the skin , and crack 'd the solid bone. 

Sunk on his knees J and staggering with his pains , 

His falling bulk his bended arm sustains; 

Lost in a dizzy mist the warrior lies; 

A sudden cloud comes swimming o'er his eyes. 

There the brave chief, who mighty numbers sway'd, 

Oppress'd had sunk to death's eternal shade ; 

But heavenly Venus , mindful of the love 

She bore Anchises in th' Idaean grove, 

His danger views with anguish and despair , 

And guards her offspring with a mother's care. 

About her much-lov'd son her arms she throws, 

Her arms whose whiteness match the falling snows ; 

Screen'd from the foe behina her shining veil , 

The swords wave harmless, and the javelins fail : 

Safe thro' the rushing horse , and feather' d flight 

Of sounding shafts , she bears him from the fight. 

Nor Sthenelus , with unassisting hands , 
Kemain'd unheedful of his lord's commands ; 
His panting steeds , remov'd from out the war , 
He fix'd with straiien'd traces to the car. 
N est rushing to the Dardan spoil , detains 
The heavenly coursers with the flowing manes : 
These in proud triumph to the fleet convey'd , 
No longer now a Trojan lord obey'd : 
That charge to bold Deiphylus he gave , 
Whom most he lov'd , as brave men love the brave ; 
Then mounting on his car, resum'd the rein, 
And followed where Tydides swept the plain. 



BOOK V. 

Meanwhile , his conquest ravish VI from his eyes , 
The raging chief in chace of Venus flies : 
Ps T o goddess she commission'd to the field, 
Like Pallas dreadful with her sable shield, 
Or fierce Bellona thundering at the wall , 
"While flames ascend , and mighty ruins fall ; 
He knew soft combats suit the teuder dame , 
New to t^he field, and still a foe to fame. 
Thro' breaking ranks his furious course he bends, 
And at the goddess his broad lance extends ; 
Thro' her bright \ eil the daring weapon drove , 
Th' ambrosial veil, which all the Graces wove j 
Her snowy hand the razing steel profan'd, 
And the transparent skin with crimson stain'd. 
From the clear vein a stream immortal flow'd, 
Such stream as issues from a wounded god : 
Pure emanation ! uncorrupted flood , 
Unlike our gross , diseas'd , terrestrial blood. 
For not the bread of man their life sustains , 
INor wine's inflaming juice supplies their veins. 
With tender shrieks the goddess fill'd the place , 
And dropt her offspring from her weak embrace. 
Him Phcebus took : he casts a cloud around 
The fainting chief, and wards the mortal wound. 

Then with a voice that shook the vaulted skies, 
The king insults the goddess as she flies. 
h 111 with Jove's daughter bloody fights agree ; 
The field of combat is no scene for thee : 
Go , let thy own soft sex employ thy care ; 
Go lull the coward , or delude the fair. 
Taught by this stroke , renounce the war's alarms , 
And learn to tremble at the name of arms, u 

Tydides thus : The goddess , seiz'd with dread , 
Confus'd, distracted, from the conflict fled. 
To aid her, swift the winged Iris flew, 
Wrapt in a mist above the warring crew. 
The queen of love with faded charms she found , 
Pale was her cheek , and livid look'd the wound. 
To Mars , who sat remote , they bent their way ; 
Far on the left , with cloud's involv'd he lay ; 
Beside him stood his lauce , distain'd with gore , 
And j rein'd wilh gold , his foaming steeds before. 



C)4 HOMERS ILIAD. 

Low at his knee she begg'd, with streaming eyes, 

Her brother's car, to mount the distant skies, 

And shew'd the wound by fierce Tydides given, 

A mortal man, who dares encounter heaven. 

Stern Mars attentive hears the queen complain , 

And to her hand commits the golden rein; 

She mounts the seat oppressed with silent woe, 

Driven by the goddess of the painted bow. 

The lash resounds , the rapid chariot flies , 

And in a moment scales the lofty skies. 

There stopp'd the car, and there the coursers stood, 

Fed by fair Iris with ambrosial food ; 

Before her mother Love's bright queen appears , 

O'erwhelm'd with anguish , and dissolv'd in tears ; 

She rais'd her in her arms, beheld her bleed, 

And ask'd what god had wrought this guilty deed? 

Then she : « This insult from no god I found ; 
An impious mortal gave the daring wound? 
Behold the deed of haughty Diomed ! 
'Twas in the son's defence the mother bled. 
The war with Troy no more the Grecians wage ; 
But with the gods, th' immortal gods, engage. » 

Dione then : « Thy wrongs with patience bear , 
And share those griefs inferior powers must share : 
Unnumber'd woes mankind from us sustain, 
And men with woes afflict the gods again. 
The mighty Mars in mortal fetters bound , 
And lodg'd in brazen dungeons under ground , 
Full thirteen moons in prison roar'd in vain ; 
Otus and Ephialtes held the chain : 
Perhaps had perish'd , had not Hermes' care 
Restor'd the groaning god to upper air. 
Great Juno's self has borne her weight of pain, 
Th' imperial partner of the heavenly reign *, 
Amphitryon's son infix'd the deadly dart, 
And fill'd with anguish her immortal heart. 
Even hell's grim king Alcides' power confest , 
The shaft, found entrance in his iron breast ; 
To Jove's high palace for a cure he fled , 
Pierc'd in his own dominions of the dead ; 
Where Paeon sprinkling heavenly balm around, 
Assuag'd the glowing pangs , and clos'd the wound. 



BOOK V. $5 

Hash , impious man ! to stain the blest abodes, 
And drench Jtris arrows in the blood of gods! 

« But thou , tho' Pallas urg'd thy frantic deed , 
Whose spear ill-fated makes a goddess bleed , 
Know thou, whoe'er with heavenly power contends, 
Short is his date , and soon his glory ends ; 
From fields of death when late he shall retire, 
No infant on his knees shall call him sire. 
Strong as thou art , some god may yet be found 
To stretch thee pale and gasping on the ground ; 
Thy distant wife, iEgiale the fair, 
Starting from sleep with a distracted air, 
Shall rouse thy slaves , and her lost lord deplore , 
The brave, the great, the glorious, now no more ! » 

This said , she wip'd from Venus' wounded palm 
The sacred ichor, and infus'd the balm. 
Juno and Pallas with a srni'e survey'd, 
And thus to Jove began the blue-ey'd maid : 

« Permit thy daughter, gracious Jove ! to tell 
How this mischance the Cyprian queen befell. 
As late she try'd with passion to iuilame 
The tender bosom of a Grecian dame, 
Allur'd the fair with moving thoughts of joy , 
To quit her country for some youth of Troy , 
The clasping zone, with golden buckles bound, 
Raz'd her soft hand with this lamented wound. » 

The sire of gods and men superior smiM, 
And , calling Venus , thus addrest his child : 
« Not these , O daughter, are thy proper cares ; 
Thee milder arts betit, and softer wars ; 
Sweet smiles are thine , and kind endearing charms; 
To Mars and Pallas leav:e the deeds of arms. » 

Thus they in heaven ; while on the plain below 
The fierce Tydides charg'd his Dardan foe; 
Flush'd with celestial blood pursu'd his way, 
And fearless dar'd the threatening god of day ; 
Already in his hopes he saw him kill d, 
Tho' screen'd behind "Apollo's mighty shield. 
"Thrice rushing furious, at the chief he struck ; 
His blazing buckler thrice Apollo shook ; 
He try'd the fourth; when, breaking from the cloud, 
A more than mortal yoke was heard aloud ; 



96 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

<< O son of Tydeus , cease ! be *wise , and see 
How vast the difference of the gods and thee : 
Distance immense ! between the powers that shine 
Above, eternal, deathless, and divine*, 
And mortal man, a wretch of humble birth, 
A short liv'd reptile in the dust of earth. » 
So spoke the god who darts celestial fires ; 
He dreads his fury? and some steps retires. 
Then Phoebus bore the chief of Venus' race ' 
To Troy's high fane, and to his holy place; 
Latona there, and Phoebe, heal'd the wound, 
With vigour arm'd him , and with glory crown'd. 
This done, the patron of the silver bow 
A phantom rais'd, the same in shape and show 
With great JEiieas; such ihe form he bore , 
And such in fight the radiant arms he wore. 
Around the spectre" bloody wars are wag'd, 
And Greece and Troy with clashing shields engaged. 
Meantime on Ilion's tower Apollo stood, 
And calling Mars, thus urg'd the raging god: 

« Stern power of arms, by whom the mighty fall, 
Who bath'st in blood, and shak'st th 1 embattled wall, 
Piise in thy wrath ! to hell's abhorr'd abodes 
Dispatch yon Greek, and vindicate the gods. 
First rosy Venus felt his brutal rage ; 
Me next he charg'd, and dares all heaven engage: 
The wretch would brave high heaven's immortal Sire , 
His triple thunder, and his bolts of fire, » 

The god of baitle issues on the plain, 
Stirs all the ranks , and fires the Trojan train ; 
In form like Acamas , the Thracian guide, 
Enrag'd, to Troy's retiring chiefs he cry'd: 

« How T long, ye sons of Priam ! will ye fly, 
And unreveng'd see Priam's people die? 
Still unresisted shall the foe destroy , 
And stretch the slaughter to the gates of Troy? 
Lo, brave /Eneas sinks beneath his wound, 
3Not godlike Hector more in arms renown'd: 
Haste all, and take the generous warrior's part. » 
He said ; new courage sweli'd each hero's heart. 
Sarpedon first his ardent soul express'd , 
And, turn'd to Hector, these bold words addressed* 



sook v. 97 

« Say, chiefs is all thy ancient valour lost? 
Where are thy threats, and where thy glorious boast, 
That propt alone hy Priam's race should stand 
Troy's sacred walls, nor need a foreign hand ? 
IVow, now thy country calls her wanted friends, 
And the proud vaunt in just derision ends. 
Remote they stand , while alien troops engage , 
Like trembling hounds before the lion's rage- 
Far distant hence I held my wide command , 
Where foaming Xanthus laves the Lycian land.; 
With ample wealth , the wish of mortals , blest , 
A beauteous wife , and infant at her breast ; 
With those I left whatever dear could be ; 
Greece , if she conquers, nothing wins from me. 
Yet first in fight my Lycian bands I cheer , 
And long to meet this mighty man ye fear : 
W r hile Hector idle stands , nor bids the brave 
Their wives , their infants , and their altars save. 
Haste, warrior, haste ! preserve thy threaten'd slate, 
Or one vast burst of all-involving fate 
Full o'er your towers shall fall , and sweep away 
Sons , sires , and wives , an undistinguish'd prey. 
Piouze all thy Trojans, urge thy aids to fight; 
These claim thy thoughts by day, thy watch by night ; 
With force incessant the brave Greeks oppose : 
Such cares thy friends deserve, and such thy foes. » 

Stung to the heart, the generous Hector hears, 
But just reproof with decent silence bears. 
From his proud car the prince impetuous springs ; 
On earth he leaps; his brazen armour rings. 
Two shining spears are brandish'd in his hands ; 
Thus arm'd, he animates his drooping bands, 
Revives their ardour, turns their steps from flight, 
And wakes anew the dying flames of fight : 
They turn, they stand : the Greeks their fury dare, 
Condense their powers, and wait the growing war. 

As when, on Ceres' sacred floor, the swain 
Spreads the wide fan to clear the golden grain, 
And the light chaff, before the breezes borne , 
Ascends in clouds from off the heapy corn; 
The grey dust, rising with collected winds, 
Drives o'er the barn , and whitens all the hinds; 

5 



p8 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

So white with dust the Grecian host appears , 

From trampling steeds, and thundering charioteers. 

The dusky clouds from labour'd earth arise , 

And roll in smoaking volumes to the skies. 

Mars hovers o'er them with his sable shield , 

And adds new horrors to the darken'd field : 

Pleas'd with his charge, and ardent to fulfil 

In Troy's defence Apollo's heavenly will; 

Soon as from fight the blue-ey'd maid retires , 

Each Trojan bosom with new warmth he fires. 

And now the god , from forth his sacred fane , 

Produc'd iEneas to the shouting train ; 

Alive, unharm'd, with all his peers around, 

Erect he stood, and vigorous from his wound: 

Inquiries none they made ; the dreadful day 

No pause of words admits , no dull delay ; 

Fierce Discord storms r Apollo loud exclaims, 

Fame calls, Mars thunders, and the field 's in flames 

Stern Diomed with either Ajax stood, 
And great XJlvsses bath'd in hostile blood. 
Embody 'd close , the lab' ring Grecian train 
The fiercest shock of charging hosts sustain ; 
Unmov'd and silent , the whole war they wait , 
Serenely dreadful , and as fix'd as fate. 
So when th' embattled clouds in dark array 
Along the skies their gloomy lines display, 
When now the North his boisterous rage has spent , 
And peaceful sleeps the liquid element , 
The low- hung vapours, motionless and still, 
Rest on the summits of the shaded hill , 
Till the mass scatters as the winds arise , 
Dispers'd and broken thro' the ruffled skies. 

Nor was the general wanting to his train : 
From troop to troop he toils thro' all the plain. 
«Ye Greeks, be men! the charge of battle bear; 
Your brave associates , and yourselves revere ! 
Let glorious acts more glorious acts inspire , 
And catch from breast to breast the noble fire! 
On valour's side the odds of combat lie, 
The brave live glorious, or lamented die ; 
The wretch who trembles in the field of fame , 
Meets death, and, worse than death , eternal shame ». 



book v. 99 

These words he seconds with his flying lance , 
To meet whose point was strong Deicoon's chance ; 
Eneas' friend , and in his native place 
Honour' d and lov'd like Priam's royal race ; 
Long had he fought the foremost in the field ; 
But now the monarch's lance transpierc'd his shield : 
His shield too weak the furious dart to stay, 
Thro' his broad belt the weapon fbrc'd its way ; 
The grizly wound dismiss'd his soul to hell ; 
His arms around him rattled as he fell. 

Then fierce ^Eneas, brandishing his blade, 
In dust Orsilochus and Crethon laid , 
Whose sire Diocleus , wealthy, brave , and great , 
In well-built Pherae held his lofty seat : 
Sprung from Alpheus' plenteous stream ! that yields 
Increase of harvests to the Pylian fields. 
He got Orsilochus , Diocleus he , 
And these descended in the third degree. 
Too early expert in the martial toil 
In sable sbips they left their native soil , 

T' avenge Atrides : now , untimely slain , 

They fell with glory on the Phrygian plain. 

So two young. mountain-lions , nurs'd with blood 

In deep recesses of the gloomy wood , 

Rush fearless to the plains , and , uncontroul'd , 

Depopulate the stalls , and waste the fold , 

Till pierc'd at distance from their native den , 

O'erpower'd they fall beneath the force of men. 

Prostrate on earth their beauteous bodies lay, 

Like mountain firs , as tall and straight as they. 

Great Menelaus views with pitying eyes , 

Lifts his bright lance, and at the victor flies ; 

Mars urg'd him on ; yet , ruthless in his hate , 

The god but urg'd him to provoke his fate. 

He thus advancing, Nestor's valiant son 

Shakes for his danger, and neglects his own, 

Struck with the thought, should Helen's lord be slain. 

And all his country's glorious labours vain. 

Already met , the threatening heroes stand ; 

The spears already tremble in their hand : 

In rush'd Antilochus , his aid to bring , 

And fall or conquer by the Spartan king. 



100 H0MER 7 S ILIAD. 

These seen, the Dardan backward turn'd his course, 

Brave as he was , and shun'd unequal force. 

The breathless bodies to the Greeks they drew ; 

Then mixtin combat, and their toils renew. 

First Pylaemenes , great in battle , bled , 
Who , sheath'd in brass , the Paphlagonians led : 
Atrides mark'd him where sublime he stood ; 
Fix'd in his throat, the javelin drank his blood. 
The faithful Mydon, as he turn'd from hght 
His flying coursers, sunk to endless night : 
A broken rock by Nestor's son was thrown ; 
His bended arm receiv'd the falling stone ; 
From his numb'd hands the ivory- studded reins 
Dropt in the dust , are trail' d along the plains : 
Meanwhile his temples feel a deadly wound ; 
He groans in death , and ponderous sinks to ground : 
Deep drove his helmet in the sands, and there 
The head stood fix'd , the quivering legs in air ; 
Till trampled flat beneath the coursers' feet, 
The youthful victor mounts his empty seat , 
And bears the prize in triumph to the fleet. 

Great Hector saw ', and , raging at the view, 
Pours on the Greeks : the Trojan troops pursue : 
He tires his host with animating cries , 
And brings along the furies of the skies. 
Mars , stern destroyer , and Bellona dread , 
Flame in the front , and thunder at their head : 
This swells the tumult and the rage of fight ; 
That shakes a spear that casts a dreadful light; 
Where Hector march'd , the god of battles shin'd , 
3Now storm'd before him , and now rag'd behind, 

Tydides paus'd amidst his full career ; 
Then first the hero's manly breast knew fear. 
As when some simple swain his cot forsakes , 
And wide thro' fens an unknown journey takes : 
If chance a swelling brook his passage stay, 
And foam impervious cross the wanderer's way, 
Confus'd he stops , a length of country past , 
Eves the rough waves, and, tir'd, returns at last: 
Amaz'd no less the great Tydides stands ; 
Hestay'd, and turning :. thus address'd his bands: 



BOOK V. loi 

« ]\o wonder, Greeks ! that all to Hector yield ; 
Secure of favouring gods , he takes the field; 
His strokes they second , and avert our spears : 
Behold where Mars in mortal arms appears ! 
Retire then, warriors, hut sedate and slow; 
Retire , but with your faces to the foe. 
Trust not too much your unavailing might ; 
'Tis not With Troy, hut with the gods, ye fight. » 
T\ow near the Greeks the black battalions drew , 
And first two leaders valiant Hector slew *, 
His force Anchialus and Mnesthes found , 
In every art of glorious war renown'd ; 
In the same car the chiefs to combat ride , 
And fought united, and united dy'd. 
Struck at the sight, the mighty Ajax glows 
With thirst of vengeance , and assaults the foes. 
His massy spear, with matchless fury sent, 
Thro' Amphius' belt and heaving beiiy went : 
Amphius Apaesus' happy soil possess'd , 
With herds abounding , and with treasure bless'd ; 
But fate resistless from his country led 
The chief to perish at his people's head. 
Shook with his fail his brazen armour rung , 
And, fierce to seize it, conquering Ajax sprung; 
Around his head an iron tempest rain'd •, 
A wood of spears his ample shield sustained t 
Beneath one foot the yet-warm corpse he prest . 
And drew his javelin from the bleeding breast : 
He could no more *, the showering darts denyM 
To spoil his glittering arms, and plumy pride- 
Now foes on foes came pouring on the fields , 
With bristling lances and compacted shields *, 
Till in the steely circle straiten'd round , 
Forc'd he gives way, and sternly quits the ground. 

W 7 hile thus they strive , Tlepolemus the great , 
TJrg'd by the force of unresisted fate , 
Burns with desire Sarpedon's strength to prose; 
Alcides' offspring meets the son of Jove. 
Sheath'd in bright arms each adverse chief came oil , 
Jove's great descendant , and his greater son. 
Prepai'd for combat , ere the lance he tost , 
The daring Rhodian vents his haughty boast : 



102 HOMERS ILIAD. 

a "What brings this Lycian counsellor so far, 
To tremble at our arms, not mix in war? 
Know thy vain self, nor let their flattery move , 
Who style thee son of cloud-compelliug Jove. 
How far unlike those chiefs of race divine! 
How vast the difference of their deeds and thine I 
Jove got such heroes as my sire , whose soul 
No fear could daunt , nor earth , nor hell controul. 
Troy felt his arm, and yon proud ramparts stand 
Rais'd on the ruins of his vengeful hand : 
With six small ships , and but a slender train , 
He left the town a wide-deserted plain. 
But what art thou , who deedless look'st around , 
While unreveng'd thy Lycians bite the ground v 
Small aid to Troy thy feeble force can be ; 
But wert thou greater, thou must yield to me. 
Pierc'd by my spear, to endless darkness go ! 
I make this present to the shades below, u 

The son of Hercules , the Rhodian guide , 
Thus haughty spoke. The Lycian king reply'd : 

« Thy sire , O prince ! o'erturn'd the Trojan state, 
Whose perjur'd monarch well deserv'd his fate ; 
Those heavenly steeds the hero sought so far, 
False he detaiii'd , the just reward of war ; 
Nor so content , the generous chief defy'd 
With base reproaches, and unmanly pride. 
But you, unworthy the high race you boast, 
Shall raise my glory when thy own is lost : 
Now meet thy fate, and by Sarpedon slain, 
Add one more ghost to Pluto's gloomy reign. » 

He said : both javelins at an instant flew ; 
Both Struck , both wounded , but Sarpedon slew; 
Full in the boaster's neck the weapon stood , 
Transfix'd his throat, and drank the vital blood; 
The soul disdainful seeks the caves of night , 
And his seal'd eyes for ever lose the light. 

Yet not in vain , Tlepolemus , was thrown 
Thy angry lance , which , piercing to the bone 
Sarpedon' s thigh, had robb'd the chief of breath; 
But Jove was present, and forbade the death. 
Borne from the conflict by his Lycian throng, 
The wounded hero dragg'd the lance along. 



BOOK V. 1C3 

His friends, each busy'd in his several part, 
Thro' haste , or danger, had not drawn the dart. 
The Greeks with slain Tlepolemus retir'cl , 
Whose fall Ulysses view'd, with fury fir'd; 
Doubtful if Jove's great son he should pursue, 
Or pour his vengeance on the Lycian crew. 
But Heaven and Fate the first design withstand , 
Nor this great death must grace Ulysses' hand. 
Minerva drives him on the Lycian train ; 
Alastor, Cromius , Hallius , strow'd the plain ; 
Aicander, Prytanis , Noemon , fell , 
And numbers more his sword had sent to hell ; 
But Hector saw, and, furious at the sight, 
Rush'd terrible amidst the ranks of fight . 
With joy Sarpedon view'd the wish'd relief, 
And, faint, lamenting , thus implor'd the chief: 

« Oh suffer not the foe to bear away 
My helpless corpse , an unassisted prey ; 
If I , unblest , must see my son no more , . 
My much-lov'd consort , and my native shore , 
Yet let me die in Ilion's sacred wall *, 
Troy, in whose cause I fell , shall mourn my fall. » 

He said, nor Hector to the chief replies , 
But shakes his plume , and fierce to combat flies ; 
Swift as a whirlwind drives the scattering foes , 
And dyes the ground with purple as he goes. 

Beneath a beech, Jove's consecrated shade, 
His mournful friends divine Sarpedon laid : 
Brave Pelagon , his favourite chief, was nigh , 
Who wrench'd the javelin from his sinewy thigh. 
The fainting soul stood ready- wing'd for flight , 
And o'er his eye- balls swam the shades of night ; 
But Boreas rising fresh , with gentle breath , 
Recall'd his spirit from the gates of death , 

The generous Greeks recede with tardy pa 
Tho' Mars and Hector thunder in their face ; 
None turn their backs to mean ignoble flight •, 
Slow they retreat , and ev'n retreating fight. 
Who first, who last, by Mars and Hector's hand 
Stretch'd in their blood , lay gasping on the sand I 
Teuthras the great , Orestes the renown'd 
For manag'd steeds, and Trechus, press'dthe ground*, 



io4 

Hext O'enomaus, and Oenop's offspring , dy'd J 

Oresbius last fell groaning at their side ; 

Oresbius , in his painted mitre gay, 

In fat Bceotia held his wealthy sway, 

Where lakes surround low Hyle's watery plain*, 

A prince and people studious of their gain. 
The carnage Juno from the skies survey'd , 

And, touch'd with grief, bespoke the hlue-ey'd maids 

« Oh fight accurst ! shall faithless Troy prevail , 

And shall out promise to our people fail? 

How vain the word to Menelaus given 

By Jove's great daughter and the queen of heaven ? 

Beneath his arms that Priam's towers shall fall , 

If warring gods for ever guard the wall ! 

Mars , red with slaughter, aids our hated foes ; 

Haste , let us arm , and force with force oppose ! >* 
She spoke : Minerva burns to meet the war ; 

And now heavens empress calls her blazing car. 

At her command rush forth the steeds divine ; 

Rich with immortal gold their trappings shine. 

Bright Hebe waits; by Hebe , ever young , 

The whirling wheels are to the chariot hung* 

On. the bright axle turns the bidden wheel 

Of sounding brass ; the polish'd axle , steel. 

Eight brazen spokes in radiant order flame ; 

The circles gold, of uncorrupted frame, 

Such as the heavens produce ; and round the gold 

Two brazen rings of work divine were roll'd. 

The bossy naves of solid silver shone ; 

Braces of gold suspend the moving throne v 

The car, behind , an arching figure bore ; 

The bending concave form'd an arch before ; 

Silver the beam , th' extended yoke was gold , 

And golden reins th' immortal coursers hold. 

Herself, impatient , to the ready car 

The coursers joins, and breathes revenge and war. 

Pallas disrobes ; her radiant veil unty'd , 
With flowers adorn'd , with art diversify' d , 
The labour'd veil her heavenly fingers wove , 
Flows on the pavement of the court of Jove. 
Now heaven's dread arms her mighty limbs invest ; 
Jove's cuirass blazes on her ampleJneast •, 



BOOK V. 10- 

Deck'd in sad triumph for the mournful field , 
O'er her broad shoulders hangs his horrid shield , 
Dire , black , tremendous ! Round the margin roll'd , 
A fringe of serpents hissing guards the gold : 
Here all the terrors of grim war appear, 
Here rages Force , here tremble Flight and Fear, 
Here storm'd Contention , and here Fury frown'd , 
And the dire orb portentous Gorgon crown'd. 
The massy golden helm she next assumes , 
That dreadful nods with four o'ershading plumes *, 
So vast , the broad circumference contains 
A hundred armies on a hundred plains. 
The goddess thus th' imperial car ascends ; 
Shook by her arm the mighty javelin bends , 
Ponderous and huge, that when her fury burns, 
Proud tyrants humbles , and whole hosts o'erturns. 

Swift as the scourge th' ethereal coursers fly, 
While the smooth chariot cuts the liquid sky. 
Heaven's gates spontaneous open to the powers , 
Heaven's golden gates, kept by the winged hours; 
Commission'd in alternate watch they stand , 
The sun's bright portals and the skies command , 
Involve in clouds th' eternal gates of day, 
Or the dark barrier roll with ease away. 
The sounding hinges ring : on either side 
The gloomy volumes , pierc'd with light , divide. 
The chariot mounts , where , deep in ambient skies 
Confus'd, Olympus' hundred heads arise ; 
Where far apart the thunderer fills his throne , 
O'er all the gods, superior and alone. 
There with her snowy hand the queen restrains 
The fiery steeds, and thus to Jove complains : 

« O sire ! can no resentment touch thy soul? 
Can Mars rebel , and does no thunder roll? 
What lawless rage on yon forbidden plain ! 
What rash destruction , and what heroes slain ! 
Venus and Phoebus with the dreadful bow , 
Smile on the slaughter, and enjoy my woe. 
Mad _, furious power ! whose unrelenting mind 
INo god can govern , and no justice bind. 
Say, mighty father ! shall we scourge his pride , 
And drive from fight th' impetuous homicide l » 



io6 



HOMERS ILIAD. 



« Go ! and the great Minerva be thy aid. 
To tame the monster-god Minerva knows , 
And oft afflicts his brutal breast with woes. » 

He said , Saturnia , ardent to obey, 
Lash'd her white steeds along th' aerial way. 
Swift down the steep of heaven the chariot rolls . 
Between th' expanded earth and starry poles. 
Far as a shepherd , from some point On high , 
O'er the wide main extends his boundless eye ; 
Thro' such a space of air, with thundering sound, 
At every leap th' immortal coursers bound. 
Troy now they reach'd , and touch'd those banks divine 
Where silver Simois and Scamander join. 
There Juno stopp'd , and , her fair steeds unloos'd , 
Of air condens'd a vapour circumfus'd : 
For these , impregnate with celestial dew, 
On Simois' brink ambrosial herbage grew. 
Thence, to relieve the fainting Argive throng, 
Smooth as the sailing doves , they glide along. 

The best and bravest of the Grecian band , 
A warlike circle , round Tydides stand ; 
Such was their look as lions bath'd in blood , 
Or foaming boars, the terror of the wood. 
Heaven's empress mingles with the mortal crowd 9 
And shouts , in Stentor's sounding voice , aloud ; 
Stentor the strong , endu'd with brazen lungs , 
Whose throat surpass'd the force of fifty tongues. 

« Inglorious Argives ! to your race a shame , 
And only men in figure and in name ! 
Once from the walls } r our timorous foes engag'd , 
While , fierce in war, divine Achilles rag'd; 
Now issuing fearless they possess the plain, 
D*"ow win the shores , and scarce the seas remain. » 

Her speech new fury to their hearts convey'd ; 
While near Tydides stood th' Athenian maid ; 
The king beside his panting steeds she found , 
O'erspent with toil , reposing on the ground : 
To cool his glowing wound he sat apart , 
TJie wound inflicted* by the Lycian dart ; 
Large drops of sweat from all his limbs descend, 
Beneath his ponderous shield his sinews bend, 



I 



LOOK V. I li 

Whose ample belt that o'er his shoulders lay. 
He eas'd, and wash'd the clotted gore away. 
The goddess , leaning o'er the bending yoke 
Beside his coursers , thus her silence broke : 

« Degenerate prince ! and not of Tydeus' kind , 
Whose little body iGclg'd a mighty mind ; 
Foremost he press'd in glorious toils to share , 
And scarce refrain'd when I foi ebade the war. 
Alone , uuguaided, once he dar'd to go, 
And feast encircled by the Theban foe : 
There brav'd and vanquish'd many a hardy knigh* ; 
Such nerves I gave him , and such force in fight. 
Thou too no less hast been my constant care ; 
Thy hands I arm'd , and sent thee forth io war : 
But thee , or fear deters , or sloth detains ; 
No crop of all thy father warms thy veins. » 

The chief thus answer' d mild : « Immortal maid ! 
I own thy presence , and confess thy aid. 
Not fear, thou know'st, withholds me from the plains ; 
Nor sloth hath seiz'd me, but thy word restrains : 
From warring gods thou bad'st me turn my spear, 
And Venus only foimd resistance here. 
Hence , goddess ! heedful of thy high commands , 
Loth I gave way, and warn'd our Argive bands-, 
For Mars, the homicide, these eyes beheld , 
With slaughter red , and raging round the field. » 

Then thus Minerva : « Brave Tydides, hear ! 
Not Mars himself, nor aught immortal fear. 
Full on the god impell thy foaming horse : 
Pallas commands, and Pallas lends thee force. 
Rash, furious, blind, from these to those he flies , 
And every side of wavering combat tries; 
Large promise makes , and breaks the promise made ; 
Now gives the Grecians , now the Trojans aid. » 

She said , and to the steeds approachiug near, 
Drew from his seat the martial charioteer. 
The vigorous power the trembling car ascends , 
Fierce for revenge ; and Diomed attends. 
The groaning axle bent beneath the load * 7 
So great a hero , and so great a god. 



108 • HOMERS ILIAD. 

She snateh'd the reins, she lash'd with aJI her force , 
And full on Mars impell'd the foaming horse ; 
But first , to hide her heavenly visage , spread 
Black Orcus* helmet o'er her radiant head. 

Just then gigantic Periphas lay slain, 
The strongest warrior of th' JEtolian train ; 
The god who slew him leaves his prostrate prize 
Stretch'd where he fell, and at Tydides flies. 
Now rushing fierce , in equal arms appear 
The daring Greek , the dreadful god of war \ 
Full at the chief, above his courser's head , 
From Mars's arm th' enormous weapon fled : 
Pallas oppos'd her hand , and caus'd to glance , 
Far from the car , the strong immortal lance , 
Then threw the force of Tydeus' warlike son j 
The javelin hiss'd, the goddess urg'd it on, 
"Where the broad cincture girt his armour round. 
It pierc'd the god : his groin receiv'd the wound. 
From the rent skin the warrior tugs again 
The smoking steel. Mars bellows with the pain ; 
Loud as the roar encountering armies yield , 
When shouting millions shake the thundering field. 
Both armies start , and trembling , gaze around ; 
And earth and heaven rebellow to the sound. 
As vapours blown by Auster's sultry breath , 
Pregnant with plagues and shedding seeds of death , 
Beneath the rage of burning Sirius rise , 
Choak the parch'd earth , and blacken all the skies *, 
In such a cloud the god from combat driven , 
High o'er the dusty whirlwind scales the heaven. 
Wild with his pain, he sought the bright abodes, 
There sullen sat beneath the sire of gods , 
Show'dihe celestial blood, and with a groan 
Thus pour'd his plaints before th' immortal throne : 

« Can Jove, supine, flagitious facts survey, 
And brook the furies of this daring day I 
For mortal men celestial powers engage , 
And gods on gods exert eternal rage. 
From thee, O father! all these ills we bear, 
And thy fell daughter with the shield and spear ; 



BOOK V. 10p 

Thou gav'st that fury to the realms of light, 
Pernicious, wild, regardless of the right. 
All heaven heside reveres thy sovereign sway, 
Thy voice we hear, and thy hehests obey : 
'Tis hers t' offend , and even offending share 
Thy breast, thy counsels, thy distinguish'd care : 
So boundless she , and thou so partial grown , 
"Well may we deem the wonderous birth thy own. 
Now frantic Diomed , at her command , 
Against th' immortals lifts his raging hand : 
The heavenly Venus first his fury found ; 
Me next encountering , me he dar'd to wound : 
Vanquish'd I fled : even I, the god of fight, 
From mortal madness scarce was sav'd by flight, 
Else had'st thou seen me sink on yonder plain , 
Heap'd round , and heaving under loads of slain ! 
Or, pierc'd with Grecian darts , for ages he , 
Condemn'd to pain, tho* fated not to die. *> 

Him thus upbraiding , with a wrathful look 
The Lord of thunders view'd , and stern bespoke. 
<e To me, perfidious ! this lamenting strain? 
Of lawless force shall lawless Mars complain? 
Of all the gods who tread the spangled skies , 
Thou most unjust , most odious in our eyes ! 
Inhuman discord is thy dire delight , 
The waste of slaughter, and the rage of fight. 
IVo bound , no law thy fiery temper quells , 
And all thy mother in thy soul rebels. 
In vain our threats, in vain our power we use; 
She gives th' example , and her son pursues. 
Yet long th' inflicted pangs thou shalt not mourn , 
Sprung since thou art from Jove, and heavenly born. 
Else, sing'd with lightning, had'st thou hence been thrown, 
Where chain'd on burning rocks the Titans groan. » 

Thus he who shakes Olympus with his nod *, 
Then gave to Paeon's care the bleeding god. 
With gentle hand the balm he pourd around , 
And heal'd th' immortal flesh , and clos'd the wound. 
As when the fig's prest juice , infus'd in cream ? 
To curds coagulates the liquid stream , 



110 HOMERS ILIAD. BOOK V. 

Sudden the fluids fix, the parts combin'd; 
Such , and so soon, th' aethereal texture join'd. 
Cleans'd from the dust and gore , fair Hebe drest 
His mighty limbs in an immortal vest. 
Glorious he sat, in majesty restor'd , 
Fast by the throne of heaven's superior lord. 
Juno and Pallas mount the blest abodes, 
Their task performed, and mix among the gods. 



THE ARGUMENT. 

The Episodes of Glaucus and Diomed , and of 
Hector and Andromache. 

The gods having left the field, the Grecians prevail. Helenus, 
the chief augur of Troy, commands Hector to return to the 
city, in order to appoint a solemn procession of the queen 
and the Trojan matrons to the temple of Minerva, to intreat 
her to remove Diomed from the fight. The battle relaxing 
daring the absence of Hector , Glaucus and Diomed have an 
interwiew between the two armies ; where , coming to the 
knowledge of the friendship and hospitality past between 
their ancestors, they make exchange of their arms. Hector, 
having performed the orders of Helenus, prevailed upon 
Paris to return to the battle ; and , taking a tender leave 
of his wife Andromache, hastens again to the field. 

The scene is first in the field of battle , between the rivers 
Simois and Scamander, and then changes to Troy. 



THE 

ILIAD. 

BOOK VI. 



]N"ow heaven forsakes the fight : th' immortals yield , 

To human force and human skill , the field : 

Dark showers of javelins fly from foes to foes ; 

Now here , now there , the tide of combat flows ; 

Where Troy's fam'cl streams*, that bound the deathful plain., 

On either side run purple to the main. 

Great Ajax first to conquest led the way, 
Broke the thick ranks , and turn'd the doubtful day, 
The Thraciau Acamas his faulchion found, 
And hew'd th' enormous giant to the ground ; 
His thundering arm a deadly stroke imprest, 
Where the black horse-hair nodded o'er his crest : 
Fix'd in his front the brazen weapon lies , 
And seals in endless shades his swimming eyes. 
Next Teuthras' son distain'd the sands with blood, 
Axylus , hospitable , rich , and good : 
In fair Arisba's walls , his native place , 
He held his seat; a friend to human race. 
Fast by the road , his ever-open door 
Oblig'd the wealthy, and reliev'd the poor. 
To stern Tydides now he falls a prey, 
No friend to guard him in the dreadful day ! 
Breathless the good man fell , and by his side 
His faithful servant, old Calesius, dy'd. 

By great Euryalus was Dresus slain , 
And next he laid Opheltius on the plain. 
Two twins were near, bold , beautiful and young , 
From a fair Naiad and Bucolion sprung : 
Laomedon's white flocks Bucoiion fed, 
That monarch's first-born by a foreign bed ; 

3*r Scamander aud Siniois. 



Il4 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

In secret woods he won the Naiad's grace , 
And two fair infants crown'd his strong embrace. 
Here dead they lay in all their youthful charms : 
The ruthless victor stripp'd their shining arms. 

Astyalus by Polypaetes fell ; 
Ulysses' spear Pidyt.es sent to hell : 
By Teucer's shaft brave Aretaon bled , 
And Nestor's son laid stern Ablerus dead ; 
Great Agamemnon, leader of the brave, 
The mortal wound of rich Elatas gave, 
Who held in Pedasus his proud abode, 
And till'd the banks where silver Satnio flow'd. 
Melanthms by Eurypylus was slain ; 
And Phylacus from Leitus flies in vain. 

TJnblest Adrassus next at mercy lies 
Beneath the Spartan spear, a living prize. 
Scar'd with the din and tumult of the fight, 
His headlong steeds , precipitate in flight , 
Rush'd on a tamarisk's strong trunk, and broke 
The shatter'd chariot from the crooked yoke ; 
Wide o'er the field, resistless as the wind, 
For Troy they fly, and leave their lord behind. 
Prone on his face he sinks beside the wh^el : 
Atrides o'er him shakes his vengeful steel ; 
The fallen chief, in suppliant posture, prest 
The victor's knees , and thus his prayer addrest : 

« Oh spare my youth , and for the life I owe 
Large gifts of price my father shall bestow. 
When fame shall tell , that not in battle slain 
Thy hollow ships his captive son detain , 
Rich heaps of brass shall in thy tent be told , 
And steel well-temper'd , and persuasive gold. » 

He said : compassion touch'd the hero's heart. 
He stood suspended with the lifted dart : 
As pity pleaded for his vanquish'd prize , 
Stern Agamemnon swift to vengeance flies , 
And furious , thus : « Oh impotent of mind ! 
Shall these, shall these Atrides' mercy find? 
Well hast thou known proud Troy's perfidious land , 
And well her natives merit at thy hand ! 
Not one of all the race , nor sex , nor age , 
Shall save a Trojan from our boundless rage : 



BOOR VI. Il5 

Ilion shall perish whole , and bury all ; 

Her babes, her infants at the breast shall fall: 

A dreadful lesson of exampled fate 

To warn the nations , and to curb the great ! » 

The monarch spoke; the words, with warmth addrest 

To rigid justice, steel'd his brother's breast. 

Fierce from his knees the hapless chief he thrust ; 

The monarch's javelin stretchM him in the dust. 

Then pressing with his foot his panting heart , 

Forth from the slain he tugg'd the reeking dart. 

Old Nestor saw, and rouz'd the warriors' rage ; 

« Thus, heroes! thus the vigorous combat wage ; 

Pfo son of Mars descend, for servile gains, 

To touch the booty while a foe remains. 

Behold yon glittering host, your future spoil: 

First gain the conquest, then reward the toil. » 
And now had Greece eternal fame acquir'd, 
And frighteud Troy within her walls retir'd ; 
Had not sage Helen us her sfate red rest , 
Taught by the gods that mov'd his sacred breast. 
Where Hector stood . with great .Eneas join'd , 

The seer reveal'd the counsels of his mind. 

« Ye generous chiefs ! on whom th' immortals lay 
The cares and glories of this doubtful day, 
On whom your aids , your country's hopes depend 7 
Wise to consult , and active to defend! 
Here , at our gates , your brave efforts unite , 
Turn back the routed, and forbid the flight, 
Ere yet their wives' soft arms the cowards gain , 
The sport and insult of the hostile, train. 
When your commands have hearien'd every band , 
Ourselves here fix'd will make the dangerous stand ; 
Press'd as we are , and sore of former fight , 
These straits demand our last remains of might, 
Meanwhile, thou Hector to the town retire, 
And teach our mother what the gous require*, 
Direct the queen to lead th' assembled train 
Of Troy's chief matrons to Minerva's faae ; 
Unbar the sacred gates , and seek the power 
With offer'd vows , in Ilion's topmost tower. 
The largest mantle her rich wardrobes hold , 
Most priz'd for art ; and laboured o'er with gold, 



Il6 HOMERS ILIAD. 

Before the goddess' honoured knees be spread , 

And twelve young heifers to her altar led. 

If so the power, aton'd by fervent prayer, 

Our wives , our infants , and our city spare, 

And far avert Tydides' wasteful ire, 

That mows whole troops, and makes all Troy retire. 

Not thus Achilles taught our hosts to dread, 

Sprung tho 1 he was from more than mortal bed ; 

Not thus resistless roll'd the stream of fight, 

In rage unbounded , and unmatch'd in might. » 

Hector obedient heard; and, with a bound, 
Leap'd from his trembling chariot to the ground; 
Thro' all his host, inspiring force , he flies, 
And bids the thunder of the battle rise. 
With rage recruited the bold Trojans glow, 
And turn the tide of conflict on the foe ; 
Fierce in the front he shakes two dazzling spears : 
All Greece recedes , and 'midst her triumphs fears. 
Some god, they thought , who rul'd the fate of wars, 
Shot down, avenging, from the vaults of stars. 

Then thus, aloud : « Ye dauntless Dardans , hear I 
And you whom distant nations send to war! 
Be mindful of the strength your fathers bore ; 
Be still yourselves , and Hector asks no "more. 
One hour demands me in the Trojan wall , 
To bid our altars flame, and victims fall; 
Nor shall, I trust, the matron's holy train, 
And reverend elders , seek the gods in vain. » 

This said, w T ith ample strides the hero past; 
The shield's large orb behind his shoulder cast. 
His neck o'ershading, to his ancle hung ; 
And as he march'd, the brazen buckler rung. 

Now paus'd the battle , godlike Hector gone , 
When daring Glaucus and great Tydeus' son 
Between both armies met : the chiefs from far 
Observ'd each other, and had mark'd for war. 
Near as they drew , Tydides thus began : 

« What art thou , boldest of the race of man ? 
Our eyes , till now , that aspect ne'er beheld , 
Where fame is reap'd amid th' embattled field : 
Yet far before the troops thou dar'st appear , 
And meet a laace the fiercest heroes fear. 



BOOK VI. 11'" 

Unhappy they, and born of luckless sires , 
Who tempt our fury when Minerva fires I 
But if from heaven , celestial, thou descend , 
Know, with immortals we no more contend. 
Not long Lycurgus view'd the golden light, 
That daring man who mix'd with gods in fight ; 
Bacchus , and Bacchus' votaries , he drove 
With hrandish'd steel from Nyssa's sacred grove ; 
Their consecrated spears lay scatter'd round, 
With curling vines and twisted ivy bound ; 
While Bacchus headlong sought the briny flood, 
And Thetis' arms received the trembling god. 
Nor fail'd the crime th' immortals wrath to move , 
Th' immortals blest with endless ease above , 
Depriv'd of sight by their avenging doom , 
Cheerless he breath'd , and wauder'd in the gloom : 
Then sunk unpity'd to the dire abodes , 
A wretch accurst, and hated by the gods ! 
I brave not heaven : but if the fruits of earth 
Sustain thy life, and human be thy birth ; 
Bold as thou art , too prodigal of breath , 
Approach , and enter the dark gates of death. » 

« What , or from whence I am , or who my sire , 
( Reply'd the chief, ) can Tydeus' son enquire ? 
Like leaves on trees the race of man is found , 
Now T green in youth, now withering on the ground : 
Another race the following spring supplies , 
They fall successive , and successive rise ; 
So generations in their course decay, 
So flourish these , when those are past awaj r . 
But if thou still persist to search my birth , 
Then hear a tale that tills the spacious earth. 

« A city stands on Argos' utmost bound , 
Argos the fair , for warlike steeds renowu'd , 
iEolian Sisyphus, with wisdom blest, 
In ancient time the happy walls possest. 
Then call'd Ephyre : Glaucus was his son ; 
Great Glaucus , father of Bellerophon , 
Who o'er the sons of men in beauty shin'd, 
Lov'df or that valour which preserves mankind, 
Then mighty Pra;tus Argos' sceptre sway'd, 
Whose hard commands Bellerophon obrj'd, 



Il8 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

With direful jealousy the monarch rag'd , 

And the brave prince in numerous toils eugag'd. 

For him Antaea burn'd with lawless flame , 

And strove to tempt him from the paths of fame ; 

In vain she tempted the relentless youth , 

Endu'd with wisdom, sacred fear, and truth. 

Fir'd at this scorn the queen to Prsetus fled , 

And hegg'd revenge for her insulted bed : 

Iocens'd he heard , resolving on his fate ; 

But hospitable laws restrain'd his hate ; 

To Lycia the devoted youth he sent, 

With tablets seal'd , that told his dire intent. 

Now blest by every power who guards the good , 

The chief arriv'd at Xanthus' silver flood: 

There Lycia's monarch paid him honours due ; 

Nine days he feasted , and nine bulls he slew. 

But when the tenth bright morning orient glow'd , 

The faithful youth his monarch's mandate show'd : 

The fatal tablets , till that instant seal'd , 

The deathful secret to the king reveal'd. 

First dire Chimaera's conquest was enjoin'd : 

A mingled monster of no mortal kind ; 

Behind , a dragon's fiery tail was spread ; 

A goat's rough body bore a lion's head ; 

Her pitchy nostrils flaky flames expire ; 

Her gaping throat emits infernal fire. 

« This pest he slaughtered , for he read the skies , 
And trusted heaven's informing prodigies *, 
Then met in arms the Solymsean crew , 
Fiercest of men, and those the warrior slew. 
Next the bold Amazon's whole force defy'd ; 
And conquer'd still , for heaven was on bis side. 
« Nor ended here his toils ; his Lycian foes , 
At his return , a treacherous ambush rose , 
With leveli'd spears along the winding shore ; 
There fell they breathless , and return'd no more. 

c< At length the monarch , with repentant grief, 
Confess'd the gods, and god-descended chief; 
His daughter gave, the stranger to detain, 
With half the honours of his ample reign : 
The Lycians grant a chosen space of ground, 
With woods , with vineyards, and with harvest crown'd; 



BOOK VI. 119 

There long the chief his happy lot possess'd, 

With two hrave sons , and one fair daughter bless'd , 

Fair even in heavenly eyes 5 her fruitful love 

Crown'd with Sarpedon's birth th' embrace of Jove ; 

But when at last , distracted in his mind, 

Forsook by heaven , forsaking human kind 

Wide o'er the Aleian field he chose to straj', 

A long , forlorn , uncomfortable way ! 

Woes heap'd on woes consum'd his wasted heart ; 

His beauteous daughter fell by Phoebe's dart ; 

His eldest born , by raging Mars was slain 

In combat on the Solymaean plain. 

Hippolochus surviv'd ; from him I came ; 

The honour'd author of my birth and name ; 

By his decree I sought the Trojan town, 

By his instructions learn to win renown , 

To stand the first in worth as in command, 

To add new honours to my native land, 

Before my eyes my mighty sire to place , 

And emulate the glories of our race . » 

He spoke , and transport fill'd Tydides' heart ; 

In earth the generous warrior fix'd his dart , 

Then friendly, thus the Lycian prince addrest : 

« Welcome , my brave hereditary guest ! 

Thus ever let us meet, with kind embrace, 

TS'or stain the sacred friendship of our race. 

Know, chief, our grandsires have been guests of old; 

Oeneus the strong, Bcilerophon the bold : 

Our ancient seat his honour'd presence grac'd , 

W here twenty days in genial rites we pass'd. 

The parting heroes mutual presents left ; 

A golden goblet was thy graudsire's gift; 

Oeneus a belt of matchless work bestow'd , 

That rich with Tyrian dye refulgent glow'd. 

This from his pledge I learn'd, which safely stor'd 
Among my treasures still adorns my board : 
For Tydeus left me young , when Thebe's w all 
Beheld the sons of Greece untimely fall. 
Mindful of this , in friendship let us join ; ) 

If heaven our steps to foreign lands incline, > 

My guest in Argos thou , and I in Lycia thine. \ 



120 homer's IL I Ad. 

Enough of Trojans to this lance shall yield , 

In the full harvest of yon ample field ; 

Enough of Greeks shall dye thy spear with gore ; 

But thou and Diorned be foes no more. 

[Now change we arms , and prove to either host 

We guard the friendship of the line we boast. » 

Thus having said , the gallant chiefs alight , 
Their hands they join , their mutual faith they plight ; 
Brave Glaucus then each narrow thought resign' d , 
Jove warm'd his bosom , and enlarg'd his mind ; 
For Diomed's brass arms , of mean device , 
For which nine oxen paid , a vulgar price , 
lie gave his own , of gold divinely wrought , 
A hundred beeves the shining purchase bought. 

Meantime the guardian of the Trojan state, 
Great Hector, enter'd at the Scsean gate. 
Beneath the beech-tree's consecrated shades, 
The Trojan matrons and the Trojan maids 
Around him flock'd , all press'd with pious care 
For husbands , brothers , sons , engag'd in war. 
He bids the train in long procession go , 
And seek the gods t' avert th' impending woe. 
And now to Priam's stately courts he came , 
Rais'd on arch'd columns of stupendous frame •, 
O'er these a range of marble structure runs , 
The rich pavilions of his fifty sons , 
In fifty chambers lodg'd ; and rooms of state 
Oppos'd to those , where Priam's daughters sat : 
Twelve domes for them and their lov'd spouses shone. 
Of equal beauty, and of polish'd stone. 
Hither great Hector pass'd, nor pass'd unseen 
Of royal Hecuba, his mother -queen. 
With her Laodice, whose beauteous face 
Surpass'd the nymphs of Troy's illustrious race. 
Long in a strict embrace she held her son , 
And press'd his hands , and tender thus begun : 

« O Hector! say, what great occasion calls 
My son from fight ,' when Greece surrounds our walls ? 
Com'st thou to supplicate th' almighty power , 
With lifted hands from Ilion's lofty tower? 
Stay, till I bring the cup with Bacchus crown'd , 1 

In Jove's high name , to sprinkle on the ground , \ 

And pay due vows to all the gods around. ) 



BOOK VI. 121 

Then with a plenteous draught refresh thy soul , 
And draw new spirits from the generous bowl ; 
Spent as thou art with long laborious fight, 
The brave defender of thy country's right. 

« Far hence be Bacchus' gifts (the chief rejoiu'd); 
Inflaming wine , pernicious to mankind, ( 

Unnerves the limbs , and dulls the noble mind. \ 

Let chiefs abstain, and spare the sacred juice 
To sprinkle to the gods, its better use. 
By me that holy office were profan'd; 
111 fits it me, with human gore distain'd. 
To the pure skies these homd hands to raise , 
Or offer heaven's great sire polluted praise. 
You , with your matrons , go ! a spotless train . 
And burn rich odours in Minerva's fane. 
The largest mantle your full wardrobes hold, 
Most priz'd for art , and labour'd o'er w ith gold , 
Before the goddess' honour'd kness be spread, 
And twelve young heifers to her altar led. 
So may the power, aton'd by fervent prayer, 
Our wives, our infants, and our city spare. 
And far avert Tydides' wasteful ire , 
Who mows whole troops , and makes all Troy retire. 
Be this, O mother! your religious care; 
I go to rouse soft Paris to the war ; 
If yet not lost to all the sense of shame, 
The recreant warrior hear the voice of fame. 
Oh would kind earth the hateful wretch embrace , 
That pest of Troy, that ruin of our race J 
Deep to the dark abyss might he descend , 
Troy yet should flourish , and my sorrows end. » 

This heard, she gave command; and summon'd canie- 
Each noble matron and illustrious dame. 
The Phrj-gian queen to her rich wardrobe went , 
Where treasur'd odours breath'd a costly scent. 
There laj^ the vestures of no vulgar art, 
Sidonian maids cmbroider'd every part, 
Whom from soft Sidon youthful Paris bore, 
With Helen touching on the Tyiian shore. 
Here, as the queen revolv'd with careful eyes, 
The various textures and the various dyes , 

6 



122, HOMER'S ILIAD. 

She chose a veil that shone superior far, 
And glow'd refulgent as the morning star. 
Herself with this the long procession leads; 
The train majestically slow proceeds. 
Soon as to Ilion's topmost tower they come; 
And awful reach the high Palladian dome , 
Antenor's consort , fair Theano , waits 
As Pallas' priestess , and unbars the gates. 
"With hands uplifted and imploring eyes , 
They fill- the dome with supplicating cries. 
The priestess then the shining veil displays, 
Plac'd on Minerva's knees, and thus she prays j 

« Oh awful goddess ! ever dreadful maid, 
Troy's strong defence , unconquer'd Pallas , aid ! 
Break thou Tydides' spear , and let him fall 
Prone on the dust before the Trojan wall. 
So twelve young heifers , guiltless of the yoke , 
Shall fill thy temple with a grateful smoke. 
But thou, aton'd by penitence and prayer ^ 
Ourselves , our infants , and our city spare ! » 
So pray 7 d the priestess in her holy fane ; 
So vow'd the matrons , but they vow'd in vain. 

While these appear before the power with prayers 9 
Hector to Paris' lofty dome repairs. 
Himself the mansion rais'd, from every part 
Assembling architects of matchless art. 
Near Priam's court and Hector's palace stands 
The pompous structure , and the town commands. 
A spear the hero bore , of wond'rous strength , 
Of full ten cubits was the lance's length ; 
The steely point with golden ringlets join'd, 
Before him brandish'd , at each motion shin'd. 
Thus entering in the glittering rooms he found 
His brother-chief whose useless arms lay round , 
His eyes delighting with the splendid show, 
Brightening the shield , and polishing the bow 1 . 
Beside him Helen with her virgins stands , - 
Guides their rich labours, and instructs their hands. 

Him thus unactive , with an ardent look 
The prince beheld , and high-resenting spoke : 
« Thy hate to Troy is this the time to show'? 
O wretch ill-fated , and thy country's foe I 



BOOK VI. 123 

Paris and Greece against us both conspire, 
Thy close resentment , and their vengeful ire. 
For thee great Dion's guardian heroes fall , 
Till heaps of dead alone defend her wall ; 
For thee the soldier bleeds , the matron mourns , 
And wasteful war in all its fury burns. 
Ungrateful man ! deserves not this thy care , 
Our troops to hearten and our toils to share ? 
Rise, or behold the conquering flames ascend , 
And all the Phrygian glories at an end. » 

— « Brother, 'tis just, (reply'd the beauteous youth , ) 
Thy free remonstrance proves thy worth and truth : 
Yet charge my absence less , oh generous chief! 
On hate to Troy, than conscious shame and grief; 
Here , hid from human eyes , thy brother sate , 
And mourn'd in secret , his , and Ilion's fate. 
'Tis now enough now glory spreads her charms. 
And beauteous Helen calls her chief to arms. 
Conquest to-day my happier sword may bless , 
'Tis man's to fight , but heaven's to give success. 
But while I arm , contain thy ardent mind ; 
Or go , and Paris shall not lag behind. » 

He said , nor answer'd Priam's warlike son *, 
When Helen thus with lowly grace begun : 

a Oh generous brother ! if the guilty dame 
That caus'd these woes , deserves a sister's name ! 
Would heaven , ere all these dreadful deeds were done , 
The day that show'd me to the golden sun , 
Had seen my death ! Why did not whirlwinds bear 
The fatal infant to the fowls of air? 
Why sunk I not beneath the whelming tide , 
And 'midst the roarings of the waters dy'd ? 
Heaven fill'd up all my ills , and I accurst 
Bore all , and Paris of those ills the worst. 
Helen at least a braver spouse might claim , 
Warm'd with some virtue , some regard of fame ! 
Now, tir'dwith toils, thy fainting limbs recline , 
With toils , sustain'd for Paris' sake and mine : 
The gods have link'd our miserable doom , 
Our present woe , and infamy to come : 
Wide shall it spread , and last fhro' ages long, 
Examples sad ! and theme of future song. » 



124 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

The chief reply'd : « This time forbids to rest : 
The Trojan bands , by hostile fury prest, 
Demand their Hector , and his arm require ; 
The combat urges , and my soul's on fire. 
Urge thou thy knight to march where glory calls, 
And timely join me ere I leave the walls, 
Ere yet I mingle in the direful fray, 
My wife , my infant , claim a moment's stay ; 
This day, perhaps the last that sees me here, 
Demands a parting word , a tender tear ; 
This day , some god who hates our Trojan land 
May vanquish Hector by a Grecian hand. » 

He said , and pass'd with sad presaging heart 
To seek his spouse , his soul's far dearer part ; 
At home he sought her , but he sought in vain ; 
She , with one maid of all her menial train , 
Had thence retir'd ; and with her second joy, 
The young Astyanax , the hope of Troy, 
Pensive she stood on Ilion's towery height, 
Beheld the war , and sicken'd at the sight ; 
There her sad eyes in vain her lord explore , 
Or weep the wounds her bleeding country bore. 

But he who found not whom his soul desir'd , 
Whose virtue charm-d him as her beauty fir'd , 
Stood in the gates , and ask'd w hat way she bent 
Her parting step 2 . If to the fane she went , 
Where late the mourning matrons made resort; 
Or sought her sisters in the Trojan court? 
cc Not to the court , ( reply'd th' attendant train ) , 
Nor mix'd with Matrons to Minerva's fane : 
To Ilion's steepy tower she bent her way, 
To mark the fortunes of the doubtful day. 
Troy fled, she heard , before the Grecian sword; 
She heard , and trembled for her absent lord •, 
Distracted with surprise, she seem'd to fly, 
Fear on her cheek , and sorrow in her eye. 
The nurse attended with her infant boy, 
The young Astyanax , the hope of Troy. » 

Hector, this heard , return'd without delay j 
SAvift thro' the town he trode his former way, 
Thro' streets of palaces, and walks of state, 
And met the mourner at the Sceean gate. 



BOOK VI. 125 

With haste to meet him sprung the joyful fair, 
His hlameless wife, Actions' wealthy heir; 
( Cicilian Thebe great Aetion sway'd , 
And Hippoplaca's wide extended shade ; ) 
The nurse stood near, in whose embraces prest, 
His only hope hung smiling at her breast , 
Whom each soft charm and early grace adorn , 
Fair as the new-born star that gilds the morn. 
To this lov'd infant Hector gave the name 
Scamandrius , from Scarriander's honour'd stream ; 
Astyanax the Trojans call'd^the boy, 
From his great father, the defence of Troy. 

Silent the warrior smil'd, and, pleas'd , resign'd 

T© tender passions all his mighty mind : 

His beauteous princess cast a mournful look , 

Hung on his hand, and then dejected spoke j 

Her bosom labour'd with a boding sigh , 

And the big tear stood trembling in her eye. 

« Too daring prince ! ah ! whither dost thou run! 

Ah , too forgetful of thy wife and son ! 

And think'st thou not how wretched we shall be, 

A widow I, an helpless orphan he! 

For sure such courage length of life denies, 

And thou must fall , thy virtue's sacrifice. 

Greece in her single heroes strove in vain ; 

Now hosts oppose thee , and thou must be slain! 

Oh, grant me gods! ere Hector meets his doom, 

All I can ask of heaven, an early tomb! 

So shall my days in one sad tenor run, 

And end with sorrows as they first begun. 

]\ T o parent now remains, my griefs to share, 

JN T o father's aid, no mother's tender care. 

The fierce Achilles wrapt our walls in fire , 

Laid Thebe waste, and slew my warlike sire! 

His fate compassion in the victor bred ; 

Stern as he was, he yet rever'd the dead; 

His radiant arms preserv'd from hostile spoil , 

And laid him decent on the funeral pile ; 

Then rais'd a mountain where his bones were biirn'dj 

The mountain-nymph the rural tomb adorn'd*, 

Jove's sylvan daughters bade their elms bestow 

A barren shade , and in his honour grow. 






126 

By the same arm my seven brave brothers fell, 
In one sad day beheld the gates of hell ; 
While the fat herds and snowy flocks they fed , 
Amid their fields the hapless heroes bled ! 
My mother liv'd to bear the victor's bands , 
The queen of Hyppoplacia's sylvan lands : 
Redeem'd too late, she scarce beheld again 
Her pleasing empire, and her native plain, 
"When ah ! opprest by life-consuming woe , 
She fell a victim to Diana's bow. 

« Yet, while my Hector still survives, I see 
My father, mother, brethren, all in thee. 
Alas! my parents, brothers , kindred, all, 
Once more will perish if my Hector fall. 
Thy wife , thy infant , in thy danger share : 
Oh prove a husband's and a father's care ! 
That quarter most the skilful Greeks annoy, 
Where yon wild fig-trees join the wail of Troy ; 
Thou, from this tower, defend th' important post; 
There Agamemnon points his dreadful host, 
That pass Tydides , Ajax , strive to gam, 
And there the vergeful Spartan fires his train. 
Thrice our bold foes the fierce attack have given, 
Or led by hopes , or dictated from heaven. 
Let others in the field their arms employ, 
But stay my Hector here , and guard his Troy. » 

The chief reply'd : « That post shall be my care , 
Nor that alone , but all the works of war. 
How would the sons of Troy , in arms renown'd , 
And Troy's proud dames, whose garments sweep the ground, 
Attaint the lustre of my former name, 
Should Hector basely quit the field of fame! 
My early youth was bred to martial pains ^ 
M}^ soul impels me to th' embattled plains : 
Let me be foremost to defend the throne , 
And guard my father's glories , and my own. 

« Yet come it will , the day decreed by fates ; 
How my heart trembles while my tongue relates ! 
The day when thou , imperial Troy ! must bend , 
And see thy warriors fall , thy glories end. 
And yet no dire presage so wounds my mind , 
My mother's death ? the ruin of my kind _, 



BOOK VI* I27 

Hot Priam*s hoary hairs defil'd with gore , 
Not all my brothers gasping on the shore, 
As thine , Andromache ! thy griefs I dread ; 
I see thee trembling , weeping , captive led I 
In Argive looms our battles to design , 
And woes , of which so large a part was thine ! 
To bear the victor's hard commands , or bring 
The weight of waters from Hyperia's spring. 
There , while you groan beneath the load of life , 
They cry : Behold the mighty Hector's wife ! 
Some haughty Greek, who lives thy tears to see > 
Embitters all thy woes by naming me. 
The thoughts of glory past, and present shame, 
A thousand griefs shall waken at the name ! 
May I lie cold before that dreadful day. 
Press'd with a load of monumental clay ! 
Thy Hector, wrapt in everlasting sleep , 
Shall neither hear thee sigh , nor see thee weep. » 

Thus having spoke , th' illustrious chief of Troy 
Stretch'd his fond arms to clasp the lovely boy. 
The babe clung crying to his nurse's breast , 
Scar'd at the dazzling helm , and nodding crest. 
With secret pleasure each fond parent smil'd , 
And Hector hasted to relieve his child ; 
The glittering terrors from his brows unbound , 
And plac'd the beaming helmet on the ground; 
Then kiss'd the child, and, liftiug high in air, 
Thus to the gods preferr'd a father's prayer : 

« O thou , whose glory fills th' aethereal throne , 
And all ye deathless powers ! protect my son ! 
Grant him , like me , to purchase just renown , 
To guard the Trojans , to defend the crown ; 
Against his country's foes the war to wage , 
And rise the Hector of the future age ! 
So when, triumphant from successful toils 
Of heroes slain , he bears the reeking spoils, 
Whole hosts may hail him with deserv'd acclaim , 
And say : This chief transcends his father's fame. 
While pleas'd amidst the general shouts of Troy, 
His mother's conscious heart o'erllows with joy.» 

He spoke , and fondly gazing on her charms , 
Restor'd the pleasing burden to her arms ; 



128 HOMER'S ILIAD* 

Soft on her fragrant breast the babe she laid 1 

Hush'd to repose , and with a smile surveyed. 

The troubled pleasure soon chastis'd by fear, 

She mingled with a smile , a tender tear. 

The soften' d chief with kind compassion view*d , 

And dry'd the falling drops , and thus pursued : 

« Andromache ! my soul's far better part , 
Why with untimely sorrows heaves thy heart % 
No hostile hand can antedate my doom , 
Till fate condemns me to the silent tomb* 
Fix'd is the term to all the race of earth , 
And such the hard condition of our birth. 
No force can then resist , no flight can save , 
All sink alike , the fearful and the brave. 
No more — but hasten to thy task at home , 
There guide the spindle , and direct the loom : 
Me glory summons to the martial scene ; 
The field of combat is the sphere for men. 
Where heroes war, the foremost place I claim, 
The first in danger, as the first in fame. » 

Thus having said, the glorious chief resumes 
His towery helmet , black with shading plumes ; 
His princess parts with a prophetic sigh , 
Unwilling parts , and oft reverts her eye , 
That streain'd at every look; then moving slow 7 
Sought her own palace, and indulg'd her woe. 
There , while her tears deplor'd the godlike man. 
Thro' all her train the soft infection ran; 
The pious maids their mingled sorrows shed, 
And mourn the living Hector, as the dead. 

But now , no longer deaf to honour's call, 
Forth issues Paris from the palace wall ; 
In brazen arms that cast a gleamy ray, 
Swift thro' the town the warrior bends his way. 
The wanton courser thus , with reins unbound , 
Breaks from his stall , and beats the trembling ground y 
Pamper'd and proud, he seeks the wonted tides , 
And laves, in height of blood, his shining sides; 
His head now freed, he tosses to the skies; 
His mane dishevePd o'er his shoulders flies ; 
He snuffs the females in the distant plain , 
And springs, exulting, to his fields again, 



BOOK VI. 12C) 

With equal triumph , sprightly, bold , and gay, 
In arms refulgent as the god of day, 
The son of Priam , glorying in his might , 
Rush'd forth with Hector to the fields of fight. 

And now the warriors passing on the way, 
The graceful Paris first excus'd his stay. 
To whom the noble Hector thus reply 'd : 
«0 chief! in blood, and now in arms, ally'd ! 
Thy power in war with justice none contest ; 
Known is thy courage , and thy strength confest. 
What pity sloth should seize a soul so brave , 
Or godlike Paris live a woman's slave ; 
My heart weeps blood at what the Trojans say, 
And hopes thy deeds shall wipe the stain away. 
Haste then , in all their glorious labours share ; 
For much thej^ suffer, for thy sake , in war. 
These ills shall cease , whene'er by Jove's decree 
We crown the bowl to Heaven and Liberty ; 
While the proud foe his frustrate triumph mourns, 
And Greece indignant thro' her seas returns. » 



THE ARGUMENT. 

The single combat of Hector and u4ja3C. 

The battle renewing with double ardour upon the return of 
Hector, Minerva is under apprehensions for the Greeks. 
Apollo, seeing her descend from Olympus, joins her near 
the Scaean gate. They arree to put off the general engage- 
ment for that day, and incite Hector to challenge the 
Greeks to a single combat. Nine of the princes accepting 
the challenge, the lot is cast, and falls upon Ajax. These 
heroes, after several attacks, are parted by the night. The 
Trojans calling a council, Antenor proposes the delivery of 
Helen to the Greeks , to which Paris will not consent, but 
offers to restore them her riches. Priam sends a herald to- 
make this offer, and to demand a truce for burning the 
dead, the last of which only is agreed to by Agamemnon. 
"When the funerals are performed , the Greeks , pursuant 
to the advice of Nestor, erect a fortification to protect their 
fleet and camp, flanked with towers, and defended by a 
ditch and palisades. Neptune testifies his jealousy at this 
work , but is pacified by a promise from Jupiter. Both ar- 
mies pass the night in feastings ; but J piter uisheartens 
the Trojans with thunder and other signs of his wrath. 

The three and twentieth day ends with the duel of Hector 
and Ajax ; the next day the truce is agreed : another is 
taken up in the funeral rites of the slain , and one more in 
building the fortification before the ships. So that somewhat 
above three days is employed in this book* The scene lie* 
•wholly in the" field. 



THE 

ILIAD. 

BOOK VII. 



So spoke the guardian of the Trojan state , 
Then rush'd impetuous thro' the Scaean gate. 
Him Paris follow'd to the dire alarms \ 
Both breathing slaughter, both resolv'd in arms. 
As when to sailors labouring thro' the main , 
That long had heav'd the weary oar in vain , 
Jove bids at length th' expected gales arise ', 
The gales blow grateful , and the vessel Hies : 
So. welcome these to Troy's desiring train*, 
The bands are cheer'd , the war awakes again, 

Bold Paris first the work of death begun , 
On great Menestheus , Areithous' son : 
Sprung from the fair Philomeda's embrace , 
The pleasing Arne was his natiye place. 
Then sunk Eioneus to the shades below ; 
Beneath his steely casque he felt the blow, 
Full ou his neck, from Hector's weighty hand. 
And roll'd , with limbs relax'd , along the land. 
By Glaucus' spear the bold Iphiuous bleeds , 
Fix'd in the shoulder as he mounts his steeds ; 
Headlong he tumbles : his slack nerves unbound , 
Drop the cold useless members on the ground. 

When now Minerva saw her Argives slain , 
From vast Olympus to the gleaming plain 
Fierce she descends : Apollo mark'd her flight , 
Nor shot less swift from Ilion's towery height : 
Piadiant they met , be.jeath the beechen shade; 
W hen thus Apollo to the blue-ey'd maid : 

«"What cause , O daughter of almighty Jove! 
Thus wings thy progress from the realms above? 
Once more impetuous dost thou bend thy way. 
To give to Greece the long-divided day I 



132 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

Too much has Troy already felt thy hate, 

Now breathe thy rage , and hush the stern debate ; 

This day the business of the field suspend; 

War soon shall kindle , and great Ilion bend ; 

Since vengeful goddesses confederate join 

To raze her walls , though built by hands divine. » 

To whom the progeny of Jove replies : 
« [ left for this , the council of the skies ; 
But who shall bid conflicting hosts forbear, 
What art shall calm the furious sons of war ? » 
To her the god : « Great Hector's soul incite 
To dare the boldest Greek to single fight , 
Till Greece , provok'd , from all her numbers show 
A warrior worthy to be Hector's foe. » 

At this agreed , the heavenly powers withdrew : 
Sage Helenus their secret counsels knew ; 
Hector inspir'd he sought ; to him addrest , 
Thus told the dictates of his sacred breast : 
« O son of Priam ! let thy faithful ear 
Receive my words *, thy friend and brother hear ! 
Go forth persuasive , and a while engage 
The warring nations to suspend their rage ; 
Then dare the boldest of the hostile train 
To mortal combat on the listed plain. 
For not this day shall end thy glorious date ; 
The gods have spoke it^ and their voice is fate. » 
He said : the warrior heard the word with joy : 
Then with his spear restrain'd the youth of Troy ? 
Held by the midst athwart. On either hand. 
The squadrons part *, th' expecting Trojans stand. 
Great Agamemnon bids the Greeks forbear ; 
They breathe, and hush the tumult of the war. 
Th' Athenian maid, and glorious god of day, 
With silent joy the settling hosts survey : 
In form of vultures, on the beech's height 
Trrey sit conceal'd , and wait the future fight. 

The thronging troops obscure the dusky fields, 
Horrid wi h bristling spears, and gleaming shields. 
As when a general darkness veils the main, 
Soft zephyr curling the wide watery plain , 
The waves scarce heave , the face of Ocean sleeps , 
&nd a still horror saddens all the deeps : 



book vii. id: 

Thus in thick orders settling wide around, 
At length coinpos'd they sit , and shade the ground. 
Great Hector first amidst both armies broke 
The solemn silence , and their powers bespoke : 

« Hear, all ye Trojans, all ye Grecian bands , 
What my soul prompts , and what some god commands. 
Great Jove , averse our warfare to compose , 
O'erwhelms the nations with new toils and woes ; 
War with a fiercer tide once more returns , 
Till Ilion falls , or till yon navy burns. 
You then , O princes of the Greeks ! appear ; 
'Tis Hector speaks , and calls the gods to hear : 
From all your troops select the boldest knight , 
And him , the boldest , Hector dares to fight. 
Here if I fall, by chance of battle slain , 
Be his my spoil , and his these arms remain ; 
But let my body, to my friends return'd , 
By Trojan hands and Trojan flames be burn'd. 
And if Apollo , in whose aid I trust , 
Shall stretch your daring champion in the dust , 
Is mine the glory to despoil the foe ; 
On Phoebus' temple I'll his arms bestow ; 
The breathless carcase to your navy sent , 
Greece on the shore shall raise a monument; 
W hich when some future mariner surveys , 
Wash'd by broad Hellespont's resounding seas, 
Thus shall he say : A valiant Greek lies there , 
By Hector slain , the mighty man of war. 
The stone shall tell your vanquished hero's name ? 
And, distant ages learn the victor's fame. » 

This fierce defiance Greece astonrh'd heard , 
Blush'd to refuse, and to accept it fear'd : 
Stern Menelaus first the silence broke, 
And, inly groaning, thus opprobrious spoke ; 

a Women of Greece ! Oh scandal of your race , 
W ; hose coward souls your manly form disgrace I 
How great the shame , when every age shall know 
That not a Grecian met this noble foe ! 
Go then ! resolve to earth , from whence ye grevft, 
A heartless , spiritless, inglorious crew! 
Be what ye seem , inanimated clay ! 
Myself will dare the danger of the day. 



l34 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

'Tis man's bold task the generous strife to try, 

But in the hands of God is victory. » 

These words scarce spoke , with generous ardour prest , 
His manly limbs in azure arms he drest : 
That day, Atrides ! a superior hand 
Had stretch'd thee breathless on the hostile strand ! 
But all at once , thy fury to compose , 
The kings of Greece , an awful band , arose : 
Ev'n he their chief, great Agamemnon , press'd 
Thy daring hand ,-and this advice address'd : 
« Whither, O Menelaus ! would'st thou run , 
And tempt a fate , which prudence bids thee shun ? 
Griev'd tho' thou art , forbear the rash design ; 
Great Hector's arm is mightier far than thine •, 
Ev'n fierce Achilles learn'd its force to Tear, 
And trembling met this dreadful son of war. 
Sit thou secure amidst thy social band ; 
Greece in our cause shall arm some powerful hand, 
The mightiest warrior of th' Achaian name , 
Tho' bold , and burning with desire of fame, 
Content the doubtful honour might forego , 
So great the danger, and so brave the foe. » 

He said, and turn'd his brother's vengeful mind; 
He stoop'd to reason , and bis rage resigned , 
No longer bent to rush on certain harms ; 
His joyful friends unbrace his azure arms. 

He , from whose lips divine persuasion flows 1 , 
Grave Nestor, then in graceful act arose. 
Thus to the kings he spoke : « What grief, what shame 
Attend on Greece , and all the Grecian name \ 
How shall , alas ! her hoary heroes mourn 
Their sons degenerate , and their race a scorn % 
What tears shall down thy silver beard be roll'd, 
Oh Peleus , old in arms , in wisdom old ! 
Once with what joy the generous prince would hear 
Of every chief who fought this glorious war, 
Participate their fame , and pleas'd inquire 
Each name , each action , and each hero's sire ! 
God?! should he «ee our warriors trembling stand, 
And trembling all before one hostile hand; 
How would he lift his aged arms on high , 
Lament inglorious Greece , and beg to die I 



BOOK Vil. l35 

Ob ! would to all th' immortal powers above , 
Minerva , Phoebus , and almighty Jove ! 
Years might again roll back, my youth renew, 
And give this arm the spring which once it knew; 
When fierce in war, where Jordan's waters fall , 
I led my troops to Phea's trembling wall , 
And with th' Arcadian spears my prowess try'd , 
Where Celadon rolls down his rapid tide. 
There Ereuthalion brav'd us in tbe field , 
Proud Areithous' dreadful arms to wield ; 
Great Areitbous , known from shore to shore 
By the huge , knotted , iron mace he bore ; 
No lance he shook , nor bent the twanging bow> 
But broke , with this , the battle of the foe ; 
Him not by manly force Lycurgus slew, 
Whose guileful javelin from the thicket flew> 
Deep in a winding way his breast assail'd, 
Nor aught the warrior's thundering mace avail'd ; 
Supine he fell : those arms which Mars before 
Had given the vanquish'd , now the victor bore : 
But when old age had dimm'd Lycurgus' eyes, 
To Ereuthalion he consign'd the prize. 
Furious with this, he crush'd our levell'd bands, 
And dar'd the trial of the strongest hands : 
Nor could the strongest hand his fury stay : 
All saw , and fear'd , his huge tempestuous sway > 
Till I , the youngest of the host , appear'd , 
And youngest , met whom all our army fear'd. 
I fought the chief : my arms Minerva crown'd : 
Prone fell the giant o'er a length of ground. 
What then he was , oh were you , Nestor, now I 
Not Hector's self should want an equal foe. 
But warriors, you that youthful vigour boast, 
The flower of Greece , th' examples of our host , 
Sprung from such fathers , who such numbers sway, 
Can you stand trembling , and desert the day I » 

His warm reproofs the listening kings inflame ; 
And nine , the noblest of the Grecian name , 
Upstarted fierce : but far before the rest 
The king ofmeii advanc'd his dauntless breast i 
Then bold Tydides , great in arms , appear'd > 
And next his bulk gigantic Ajax rear'd ; 



i36 homer's ilia©. 

Oileus followed : Idomen was there ,. 
And Merion , dreadful as the god of war : 
With these Eurypylus and Thoas stand 9 
And wise Ulysses clos'd the daring band ; 
All these , alike inspir'd with noble rage , 
Demand the fight. To whom the Pylian sage : 

« Lest thirst of glory your brave souls divide , 
What chief shall combat, let the lots decide. 
Whom heaven shall chuse , be his the chance to raise 
His country's fame , his own immortal praise. » 

The lots produc'd , each hero signs his own ; 
Then in the general's helm the fates are thrown. 
The people pray with lifted eyes and hands , 
And vows like these ascend from all the bands : 
o Grant , thou almighty ! in whose hand is fate , 
A worthy champion for the Grecian state. 
This task let Ajax or Tydides prove , 
Or he^ the king of kings , belov'd by Jove, p 

Old Nestor shook the casque. By heaven inspir'd ^ 
Leap'd forth the lot , of every Greek desir'd. 
This from the right to left the herald bears , 
Held out in order to the Grecian peers : 
Each to his ri\/al yields the mark unknown, 
Till godlike Ajax finds the lot his own , 
Surveys th' inscription with rejoicing eyes, 
Then casts before him , and with transport cries : 

« Warriors ! I claim the lot , and arm with joy -, 
Be mine the conquest of this chief of Troy. 
Now , while my brightest arms my limbs invest , 
To Saturn's son be all your vows addrest : 
But pray in secret , least the foes sould hear, 
And deem your prayers the mean effect of fear. 
Said I in secret \ No , your vows declare 
In such a voice as fills the earth and air : 
Lives there a chief whom Ajax ought to dread , 
Ajax , in all the toils of battle bred? 
From warlike Salami s I drew my birth , 
And, born to combats , fear no force on earth, » 

He said. The troops, with elevated eyes, 
Implore the god whose thunder rends the skies : 

« O father of mankind , superior lord I 
On lofty Ida's holy hill ador'd 5 



BOOK VII. 107 

W T ho in the highest heaven has fix'd thy throne , 
Supreme of gods ! unbounded, and alone; 
Grant thou , that Telamon may hear away 
The praise and conquest of this doubtful day ; 
Or if illustrious Hector be thy care , 
That both may claim it , and that both may share. » 

•Now Ajax brac'd his dazzling armour on; 
Sheath' d in bright steel the giant-warrior shone : 
He moves to combat with majestic pace ; 
So stalks in arms the grisly god of Thrace , 
When Jove to punish faithless men prepares , 
And gives whole nations to the waste of wars. 
Thus mareh'd the chief tremendous ^s a god : 
Grimly he smil'd ; earth trembled as he strode ; 
His massy javelin quivering in his hand, 
He stood , the bulwark of the Grecian band. 
Thro 7 every Argive heart new transport ran ; 
All Troy stood trembling at the mighty man : 
Ev'n Hector paus'd, and with new doubt opprest ? 
Felt his great heart suspended in his breast : 
'Twas vain to seek retreat , and vain to fear ; 
Himself had challeng'd , and the foe drew near. 

Stern Telamon behind his ample shield , 
As from a brazen tower, o'erlook'd the field. 
Huge was its orb, with seven thick folds overcast, 
Of tough bull-hides ; of solid brass the last ; 
(The work of Tychius, who in Hyle dwell'd, 
And all in arts of armoury excell'd ) : 
This Ajax bore before his manly breast, 
And , threatening , thus his adverse chief addrest : 

« Hector ! approach my arm , and singly know 
"What strength thou hast , and what the Grecian foe. 
Achilles shuns the fight : yet some there are 
INot void of soul , and not unskill'd in war : 
Let him, unactive on the sea-beat shore, 
Indulge his wrath , and aid our arms no more ; 
Whole troops of heroes Greece has yet to boast, 
And sends thee one, a sample of her host. 
Such as I am , I come to prove thy might ; 
No more — be sudden, and begin the fight. » 

« O son of Telamon , thy country's pride ! 
(To Ajax thus the Trojan prince reply'd) . 



i38 fiOMER*S 1LIA0* 

Me J as a boy or woman , WOuld'st thou fright , 
New to the field, and trembling at the fight % 
Thou meet'st a chief deserving of thy arms , 
To combat born , and bred amidst alarms : 
I know to shift my ground , remount the car, 
Turn , charge , and answer every call of war ; 
To right, to left, the dexterous lance I wield , 
And bear thick battle on my sounding shield. 
But open be our fight , and bold each blow j 
I steal no conquest from a noble foe. » 

He said , and , rising high above the field , 
Whirl'd the long lance against the sevenfold shield. 
Full on the brass , descending from above , 
Thro' six bull- hides the furious weapon drove. 
Till in the seventh it fix'd. Then Ajax threw : 
Thro' Hector's shield the forceful javelin flew : 
His corslet enters, and his garment rends, 
And , glancing downwards , near his flank descends. 
The wary Trojan shrinks , and , bending low 
Beneath his buckler, disappoints the blow. 
From their bor'd shields the chiefs their javelins drew? 
Then close impetuous , and the charge renew : 
Fierce as the mountain-lions bath'd in blood, 
Or foaming boars , the terror of the wood. 
At Ajax, Hector his long lance extends; 
The blunted point against the buckler bends. 
But Ajax , watchful as his foe drew near, 
Drove thro' the Trojan targe the knotty spear ; 
It reach'd his neck , with matchless strength impeli'd : 
Spouts the black gore , and dims his shining shield. 
Yet ceas'd not Hector thus ; but, stooping down , 
In his strong hand up-heav'd a flinty stone. 
Black , craggy, vast : to this his force he bends ; 
Full on the brazen boss the stone descends ; 
The hollow brass resounded with the shock. 
Then Ajax seiz'd the fragment of a rock , 
Apply'd each nerve, and swinging round on high, 
With force tempestuous let the ruin fly ; 
The huge stone thundering through his buckler broke : 
His slacken'd knees receiv'd the numbing stroke ; 
Great Hector falls extended on the field , 
His bulk supporting on the shatter'd shield ; 



book vn, 189 

Nor wanted heavenly aid : Apollo's might 

Confirm'd his sinews , and restor'd to fight. 

And now both heroes their broad faulchions drew i 

In flaming circles round their heads they flew : 

But then by heralds' voice the word was given : 

The sacred ministers of earth and heaven : 

Divine Taltrrvbius, whom the Greeks employ, 

And sage Idaeus on the part of Troy, 

Between the swords their peaceful sceptres rear'd ; 

And first IdaBus' awful voice was heard : 

u Forbear, my sons ! your farther force to prove, 
Both dear to men, and both belov'd of Jove. 
To either host your matchless worth is known , 
Each sounds your praise , and war is all your own. 
But now the Night extends her awful shade *, 
The goddess parts you: be the Night ohey'd. » 
To whom great Ajax his high soul expressed : 
r< O sage ! to Hector be these words address'd : 
Let him , who first provok'd our chiefs to fight y 
Let him demand the sanction of the Night, 
If first he ask it , I content obey, 
And cease the strife when Hector shows the way. » 

— « Oh first of Greeks! (his noble foe rejoin'd,) # 
Whom heaven adorns , superior to thy kind , > 

With strength of body, and with worth of mind! J 

Now martial law commands us to forbear; 
Hereafter we shall meet in glorious war. 
Some future day shall lengthen out the strife, 
And let the gods decide of death or life ! 
Since then the Night extends her gloomy shade , 
And heaven enjoins it , be the Night obey'd. 
Return , brave Ajax , to thy Grecian friends , 
And joy thy nations whom thy arm defends ; 
As I shall glad each chief , and Trojan wife , 
Who wearies heaven with vows for Hector's life. 
But let us , on this memorable day, 
Exchange some gift ; that Greece and Troy may say : 
Not hate, but glory, made these chiefs contend, 
And each brave foe was in his soul a friend. » 

With that, a sword, with stars of silver grac'd , 
The baldric studded, and the sheath enchas'd, 



±4$ HOMERS ILIAD. 

He gave the Greek. The generous Greek bestow'd 
A radiant belt that rich with purple glow'd. 
Then with majestic grace they quit the plain ; 
This seeks the Grecian , that the Phrygian train. 

The Trojan hands returning Hector wait, 
And hail with joy the champion of iheir state : 
Escap'd great Ajax , they survey'd him round , 
Alive , unharm'd and vigorous from his wound. 
To Troy's high gates the godlike man they hear, 
Their present triumph , as their late despair. 

But Ajax , glorying in his hardy deed , 
The well-arm'd Greeks to Agamemnon lead. 
A steer for sacrifice the king designed , 
Of full five years , and of the nobler kind. 
The victim falls; they strip the smoking hide, 
The beast they quarter, and the joints divide; 
Then spread the tables, and repast prepare : 
Each takes his seat , and each receives his share,. 
The king himself, an honorary sign, 
Before great Ajax plac'd the mighty chine. 
"When now the rage of hunger was remov'd", 
Nestor, in each persuasive art approv'd , 
The sage whose counsels long had sway'd the rest , 
In words like these his prudent thought exprest : 

« How dear, O kings ! this fatal day has cost ! 
What Greeks are perishM ! what a people lost ! 
What tides of blood have drench' d Scamander's shore! 
What crowds of Heroes sunk, to rise no more! 
Then hear me , chief! nor let the morrow's light 
Awake the squadrons to new toils of fight ; 
Some space at least permit the war to breathe , 
While we to flames our slaughtered friends bequeath. 
From the red field their scatter'd bodies bear, 
And nigh the fleet a funeral structure rear; 
So decent urns their snowy bones may keep , 
And pious children o'er their ashes weep. 
Here , where on one promiscuous pile they blaz'd , 
High o'er them all a general tomb be rais'd ; 
Next, to secure our camp and naval powers, 
Raise an embattled wall with lofty towers ; 
From space to space be ample gates around , 
For passing chariots, and a trench profound, 



BOOR VII. l4l 

So Greece to combat shall in safety go , 
Nor fear the fierce incursions of the foe. » 
'Twas thus the sage his wholesome counsel mov'd j 
The sceptred kings of Greeee his words approv'd. 

Meanwhile, conven'd at Priam's palace-gate, 
The Trojan peers in nightly council sate : 
A senate void of order as of choice , 
Their hearts were fearful , and confus'd their voice. 
Antenor, rising , thus demands their ear : 
« Ye Trojans, Dardans , and auxiliars, hear! 
'Tis heaven the counsel of my breast inspires, 
And I but move what every god requires : 
Let Sparta's treasures be this hour restor'd , 
And Argive Helen own her ancient lord. 
The ties of faith, the sworn alliance broke, 
Our impious battles the just gods provoke. 
As this advice ye practise or reject^ 
So hope success , or dread the dire effect. >> 

The senior spoke, and sate. To whom reply'd 
The graceful husband of the Spartan bride ; 
« Cold counsels, Trojan, may become thy years, 
But sound ungrateful in a warrior's ears : 
Old man, if, void of fallacy or art, 
Thy words express the purpose of thy heart , 
Thou , in thy time , more sound advice hast given, 
But wisdom has its date assign' d by heaven. 
Then hear me , princes of the Trojan name ! 
Their treasures I'll restore , but not the dame ; 
My treasures too , for peace , I will resign ; 
But be this bright possession ever mine. » 

'Twas then . the growing discord to compose , 
Slow from his seat the reverend Priam rose : 
His godlike aspect deep attention drew : 
He paus'd, and these pacific words ensue : 

« Ye Trojans , Dardans , and auxiliar bands ! 
Now take refreshment as the hour demands : 
Guard well the walls, relieve the watch of night, 
Till the new sun restores the cheerful light , 
Then shall our herald to th' Atrides sent, 
Before their ships proclaim my son's intent, 
Next let a truce be ask'd , that Troy may burn 
Her slaughter'd heroes , and their bones iuurn ; 



l4.2 HOMERS ILIAD. 

That done , once more the fate of war be try'd , 

And whose the conquest , mighty Jove decide ! » 

The monarch spoke : the warriors snatch'd with haste, 

Each at his post in arms , a short repast. 

Soon as the rosy morn had wak'd the day, 

To the black ships Idaeus bent his way ; 

There , to the sons of Mars , in council found , 

He rais'd his voice : the host stood listening round. 
« Ye sons of Atreus , and ye Greeks , give ear ! 

The words of Troy, and Troy's great monarch , hear, 

Pleas'd may ye hear , so heaven succeed my prayers , 

What Paris , author of the war, declares. 

The spoils and treasures he to Ilion bore , 

Oh had he perish'd ere they touch'd our shore ! 

He proffers injur'd Greece •, with large increase 

Of added Trojan wealth , to buy the peace. 

But to restore the beauteous bride again, 

This Greece demands , and Troy requests in vain. 

]\ T ext , O ye chiefs ! we ask a truce to burn 

Our slaughter'd heroes , and their bones inurn. 

That done , once more ihe fate of war be try'd , 

And whose the conquest , mighty Jove decide ! » 

The Greeks gave ear, but none the silence broke ; 
At length Tydides rose, and rising spoke. 
« Oh take not , friends ! defrauded of your fame , 
Their proffer'd wealth , nor ev'n the Spartan dame. 
Let conquest make them ours : fate shakes their wall , 
And Troy already totters to her fall, n 

Th' admiring chiefs , and all the Grecian name , 
With general shouts retourn'd him loud acclaim. 
Then thus the king of kings rejects the peace : 
« Herald ! in him thou hear'st the voice of Greece. 
For what remains ; let funeral flames be fed 
With heroes corpse ; I war not with the dead : 
Go search your slaughter'd chiefs on yonder plain , 
And gratify the manes of the slain. 
Be witness , Jove, whose thunder rolls on high. » 
He said, and rear'd his sceptre to the sky. 

To sacred Troy, where all her princes lay 
To wait th' event , the herald bent his way. 
He came, and standing in the midst, explain'd 
The peace rejected , but the truce obtain'd, 



BOOK VII, 145 

Straight to their several cares the Trojans move , 
Some search the plains , some fell the sounding grove ; 
Nor less the Greeks , descending on the shore , 
Hew'd the green forest , and the bodies bore. 
And now from forth the chambers of the main , 
To shed his sacred light on earth again , 
Arose the golden chariot of the day, 
And tipt the mountains with a purple ray. 
In mingled throngs the Greek and Trojan train 
Thro' heaps of carnage search the mournful plain. 
Scarce could the friend his slaughter'd friend explore, 
With dust dishonour'd , and deform'd with gore. 
The wounds they wash'd ; their pious tears they shed ? 
And , laid along their cars , deplored the dead. 
Sage Priam check'd their grief; with silent haste 
The bodies decent on the piles were ptac'd : 
With melting hearts their cold remains they bnrn'd ; 
iVnd sadly slow to sacred Troy return'd. 
Nor less the Greeks their pious sorrows shed , 
And decent on the pile dispose the dead : 
The cold remains consume with equal care \ 
And , slowly, sadly, to their fleet repair. 
Now, ere the morn had streak'd with reddening light 
The doubtful confines of the day and night , 
About the dying flames the Greek's appear'd , 
And round the pile a general tomb they rear'd. 
Then , to secure the camp and naval powers , 
They rais'd embattled walls with lofty towers : 
from space to space were ample gates around , 
For passing chariots ; and a trench profound , 
Of large extent ; and deep in earth , below , 
Strong piles infix' d stood adverse to the foe. 

So toil'd the Greeks : meanwhile the gods above, 
In shining circle round their father Jove , 
Amaz'd beheld the wonderous works of man: 
Then he , whose trident shakes the earth , began : 

« What mortals henceforth shall our power adore , 
Our fanes frequent, our oracles implore, 
If the proud Grecians thus successful boast 
Their rising bulwarks on the sea-beat coast 1 



l44 HOMER^S ILIAD. 

See the long walls extending to the main , 

No god consulted , and no victim slain ! 

Their fame shall fill the world's remotest ends ; 

Wide as the morn her golden beam extends. 

While old Laomedon's divine abodes , 

Those radiant structures rais'd by labouring gods, 

Shall , raz'd and lost , in long oblivion sleep. » 

Thus spoke the hoary monarch of the deep. 

Th' almighty Thunderer with a frown replies, 

That clouds the world , and blackens half the skies : 

« Strong god of ocean !' thou , whose rage can make 

The solid earth's eternal basis shake ! 

What cause of fear from mortal works could move 

The meanest subject of our realms above? 

Where'er the sun's refulgent rays are cast , 

Thy power is honour'd , and thy fame shall last. 

But yon proud work no future age shall view, 

No trace remain where once the glory grew : 

The sapp'd foundations by thy force shall fall , 

And , whelm'd beneath thy waves , drop the huge wall : 

Vast drifts of sand shall change the former shore : 

The ruin vanish'd,and the name no more. » 

Thus they in heaven ; while , o'er the Grecian train, 
The rolling sun descending to the main , 
Beheld the finish'd work. Their bulls they slew : 
Black from the tents the savoury vapours flew# 
And now the fleet arriv'd from Lemnos' strands , 
With Bacchus' blessings cheer'd the generous bands. 
Of fragrant, wines the rich Eunseus sent 
,A thousand measures to the royal tent : 
Eunanis, whom Hypsipyle of yore 
To Jason , shepherd of his people , bore. 
The rest they purchas'd at their proper cost , 
And well the plenteous freight supply'd the host ; 
Each , in exchange , proportioned treasures gave ; 
Some brass, or iron j some an ox, or slave. 
All night they feast , the Greek and Trojan powers , 
Those on the fields , and these within their towers. 
]But Jove averse the signs of wrath display'd , 
And shot red lightnings through the gloomy shade ; 



BOOK VII. l45 

Humbled they stood ; pale horror seiz'd on all , 
"While the deep thunder shook th' aerial hall , 
Each pour'd to Jove before the bowl was crown'd , 
And large libations drench'd the thirsty ground : 
Then late , refresh'd with sleep from toils of fight , 
Enjoy'd the balmy blessings of the night. 



THE ARGUMENT. 

The second battle > and the distress of the Greeks, 

Jupiter assembles a council of the deities, and threatens 
them with the pains of Tartarus, if they assist either side ; 
Minerva only obtains of him that she may direct the Greeks 
by her counsels. The armies join battle. Jupiter, on mount 
Ida , weighs in his balances the fates of both , and affrights 
the Greeks with his tlmnders and lightnings. Nestor alone 
continues in the field in great danger; Diomed relieves him ; 
whose exploits, and those of Hector, are excellently des- 
cribed. Juno endeavours to animate Neptune to the assis- 
tance of the Greeks , but in vain. The acts of Teucer, wLo 
i.s at length wounded by Hector and carried off. Juno and 
Minerva prepare to aid the Grecians , but are restrained by- 
Iris, sent from Jupiter. The night puts an end to the battle. 
Hector continues in the field , the Greeks being driven 
to their fortification before the ships, and gives orders to 
keep the watch ^alLnight in the camp, to prevent the enemy 
from re-embarking and escaping by flight. They kindle fires 
through all the field, and pass the ni^ht under arms. 

The time of seven and twenty days is employed from the 
opening of the poem to the end of this book. The scene here, 
except of the celestial machines , lies in the field, toward 
the sea-shore 



THE 

ILIA D. 

BOOK VIII. 



j\.tjrora now, fair daughter of the Dawn, 
Sprinkled with rosy light the dewy lawn ; 
When Jove convened the senate of the skies 
Where high Olympus' cloudy tops arise. 
The sire of gods his awful silence hroke : 
The heavens attentive trembled as he spoke : 

« Celestial states , immortal gods ! give ear , 
Hear our decree , and reverence what ye hear ; 
The fix'd decree which not all heaven can move ; 
Thou, Fate! fulfil it ; and ye powers ! approve. 
What god but enters yon forbidden field , 
Who yields assistance, or but wills to yield , 
Back to the skies with shame he shall be driven , 
Gash'd with dishonest wounds , the scorn of heaven =. 
Or far, oh far, from steep Olympus thrown, 
Low in the dark Tartarean gulf shall groan y 
With burning chains fix'd to the brazen floors , 
And lock'd by hell's inexorable doors ; 
As deep beneath th' infernal centre hurl'd , 
As from that centre to th' sethereal world. 
Let him who tempts me dread those dire abodes ; 
And know , th' Almighty is the God of Gods. 
League all your forces ^ then , ye powers above ; 
Join all , and try th' omnipotence of Jove j 
Let down your golden everlasting chain , 
Whose strong embrace holds heaven , and earth, and main ; 
Strive all , of mortal and immortal birth , 
To drag , by this , the Thunderer down to earth ; 
Ye strive in vain ! If I but stretch this hand , 
I heave the gods , the ocean , and the land ; 
1 fix the chain to great Olympus' height , 
And the vast world hangs trembling in my sight ! 



I40 HOMERS ILIAD. 

For such I reign , unbounded and above ; 

And such are men, and gods , compared to Jove. » 

Th' Almighty spoke , nor durst the powers reply , 
A reverend horror silene'd all the sky •, 
Trembling they stood before their sovereign's look , 
At length his best-lov'd , the power of Wisdom, spoke ; 

« Oh first and greatest ! God , by gods ador'd! 
We own thy might , our father and our lord ! 
But ah ! permit to pity human state ; 
If not to help , at least lament their fate. 
From fields forbidden we submiss refrain, 
With arms unaiding mourn our Argives slain ; 
Yet grant my counsels still their breasts may move, 
Or all must perish in the wrath of Jove. » 

The cloud-compelling god her suit approv'd, 
And smil'd superior on his best-belov'd •, 
Then call'd his coursers , and his chariot took ; 
The stedfast firmament beneath him shook *, 
Rapt by th' setherial steeds the chariot roll'd ; 
Brass were their hcofs, their curling manes of gold. 
Of heaven's undrossy gold the god's array, 
Refulgent, flash'd intolerable day. 
High on the throne he shines-, his coursers fly 
Between th 1 extended earth and starry sky. 
But when to Ida's topmost height he came , 
Fair nurse of fountains , and of savage game , 
Where , o'er her pointed summits proudly rais'd , 
His fane breath'd odours , and his altar blaz'd ; 
There , from his radiant car , the sacred sire 
Of gods and men releas'd the steeds of fire. 
Blue ambient mists th' immortal steeds embrae'd ; 
High on the cloudy point his seat he plac'd ; 
Thence his broad eye the subject world surveys , 
The town, and tents, and navigable seas. 

Now had the Grecians snatch'd a short repast , 
And buckled on their shining arms with haste. 
Troy rous'd as soon ; for on this dreadful clay 
The fate of fathers , wives and infants , lay. 
The gates, unfolding, pour forth all their train; 
Squadrons on squadrons cloud the dusky plain ; 
Men , steeds , and chariots , shake the trembling ground , 
The tumult thickens ? and the skies resound. 



liOOK VI II. 1 iV 

And now with shouts the shocking armies elos'd, 
To lances lances , shields to shields oppos'd , 
Most against host with shadowy legions drew, 
The sounding darts in iron tempest flew, 
Victors and vanquished join promiscuous cries > 
Triumphant shouts and dying groans arise ; 
With streaming hlood the slippery fields are dy'd , 
And slaughtered heroes swell the dreadful tide. 
Long as the morning beams, increasing bright , 
O'er heaven's clear aznre spread the sacred light , 
Commutual death the fate of war confounds , 
Each adverse battle gor'd with equal wounds. 
But when the sun the height of heaven ascends, 
The sire of gods his golden scales suspends 
With equal hand; in these explor'd the fate 
Of Greece and Troy, and pois'd the mighty weight. 
Press'd with its load , the Grecian balance lies 
Low sunk on earth, the Trojan strikes the skies. 
Then Jove from Ida's top his horrors spreads ; 
The clouds burst dreadful o'er the Grecian heads ; 
Thick lightnings flash ; the muttering thunder rolls : 
Their strength he withers , and unmans their soul?. 
Before his wrath the trembling hosts retire •, 
The god in terrors , and the skies on fire: 
IN T or great Idomeneus that sight could bear , 
Nor each stern Ajax, thunderbolts of war; 
Py T or he , the king of men, th' alarm sustain'd ; 
JVestor alone amidst the storm remain'd. 
Unwilling he remain'd , for Paris' dart 
Had pierc'd his courser in a mortal part ; 
Fix'd in the forehead , where the springing mane 
Curl'd o'er the brow, it stung him to the brain : 
Mad with his anguish , he begins to rear , 
Paw with his hoofs aloft, and lash the air. 
Scarce had his faulchion cut the reins , and freed 
Th' incumber'd chariot from the dying steed , 
When dreadful Hector, thundering thro' the war, 
Pour'd io the tumult on his whirling car. 
That day had stretch'd beneath his matchless hand 
The hoary monarch of the Pvlian band; 
But Diomed beheld; from forth the croud 
Ks rush'd , and on Ulysses call'd aloud : 



l5o HOMER'S ILIAD. 

« Whither, oh whither does -Ulysses run I 
Oh flight unworthy great Laertes' son ! 
Mix'd with the vulgar shall thy fate he found , 
Pierc'd in the back , a vile, dishonest wound? 
Oh turn and save from Rector's direful rage 
The glory of the Greeks , the Pylian sage ! » 
His fruitless words are lost unheard in air ; 
Ulysses seeks the ships , and shelters there. 
But hold Tydides to the rescue goes , 
A single warrior 'midst a host of foes ; 
Before the coursers with a sudden spring 
He leap'd , and , anxious , thus bespoke the king ; 
« Great perils , father ! wait th' unequal fight : 
These younger champions will oppress thy might. 
Thy veins no more with ancient vigour glow, 
"Weak is thy servant, and thy coursers slow. 
Then haste, ascend my seat , and from the car 
Observe the steeds of Tros, renown'd in war, 
Practis'd alike to turn , to stop , to chace, 
To dare the fight , or urge the rapid race ', 
These late obey'd ^Eneas' guiding rein ; 
Leave thou thy chariot to our faithful train : 
With these against yon Trojans will we go , 
Nor shall great Hector want an equal foe : 
Fierce as he is , ev'n he may learn to fear 
The thirsty fury of my flying spear. *» 

Thus said the chief; and Nestor, skill'd in war ? 
Approves his counsel, and ascends the car; 
The steeds he left, their trusty servants hold , 
Eurymedon, and Sthenelus the bold. 
The reverend charioteer directs the course , 
And strains his aged arm to lash the horse. 
Hector they face ; unknowing how to fear , 
Fierce he drove on; Tydides whiri'd his spear. 
The spear with erring haste mistook its way, 
But plung'd in Eniopeus' bosom lay. 
His opening hand in death forsakes the rein : 
The steeds fly back : he falls , and spurns the plain. 
Great Hector sorrows for his servant kill'd , 
Yet , unreveng'd , permits to press the field ; 
Till to supply his place , and rule the car , 
Rose Archeptolemus , the fierce in war. 



BOOK Till* 131 

And now had death and horror cover' d all ; 
Like timorous flocks , the Trojans in their wall 
Inclos'd had hied ; hut Jove , with awful sound y 
Roll'd the big thunder o'er the vast profound : 
Full in Tydides' face the lightning flew ; 
The ground before him flam'd with sulphur blue ; 
The quivering steeds fell prostrate at the sight , 
And .Nestor's trembling hand confess'd his fright : 
He dropt the reins , and shook with sacred dread , 
Thus, turning , warn'd th' intrepid Diomed: 

a O chief! too daring in thy friend's defence ? 
Retire advis'd, and urge the chariot hence. 
This day, averse , the sovereign of the skies 
Assists great Hector, and our palm denies. 
Some other sun may see the happier hour, 
When Greece shall conquer by his heavenly power. 
; Tis not in man his fix'd decree to move : 
The great will glory to submit to Jove, p 

— « O reverend prince ! ( Tydides thus replies ) . 
Thy years are awful , and thy words are wise ; 
But ah , what grief! should haughty Hector boast , 
I fled inglorious to the guarded coast. 
Before that dire disgrace shall blast my fame , 
O'erwhelm me , earth , and hide a warrior's shame. » 
To whom Gerenian Nestor thus reply'd : 
« Gods ! can thy courage fear the Phrygian's pride ? 
Hector may vaunt , but who shall heed the boast \ f 

Not those who felt thy arm , the Dardan host , > 

Nor Troy, yet bleeding in her heroes lost; ) 

Not ev'n a Phrygian dame , who dreads the sword 
That laid in dust her lov'd , lamented lord. » 
He said , and, hasty o'er the gasping throng, 
Drives the swift steeds ; the chariot smokes along. 
The shouts of Trojans thicken in the wind \ 
The storm of hissing javelins pours behind. 
Then , with a voice that shakes the solid skies , 
Pleas'd Hector braves the warrior as he flies : 
« Go , mighty hero ! grae'd above the rest 
In seats of council and the sumptuous feast : 
Now hope no more those honours from thy train; 
Go , less than woman , in the form of man ! 



l52. HOMER'S ILIAD. 

To scale oar walls , to wrap our towers in flames , 

To lead in exile the fair Phrygian dames , 

Thy once proud hopes, presumptuous prince , are fled; 

This arm shall reach thy heart , and stretch thee dead. * 

Now fears dissuade him , and now hopes invite , 
To stop his coursers, and to stand the fight ; 
Thrice turn'd the chief, and thrice imperial Jove 
On Ida's summits thundered from ahove. 
Great Hector heard ; he saw the flashing light , 
The sign of conquest, and thus urg'd the fight r 
« Hear, every Trojan , Lycian , Dardan band ? 
All fam'd in war, and dreadful hand to hand. 
Be mindful of the wreaths your arms have won , 
Your great forfathers' glories , and your own. 
Heard ye the voice of Jove? Success and fame 
Await on Troy, on Greece eternal shame. 
In vain they skulk behind their boasted wall ; 
Weak bulwarks! destin'd by this arm to fall. 
High o'er their slighted trench our steeds shall bound, 
And pass victorious o'er the level'd mound. 
Soon as before yon hollow ships we stand , 

Fight each with flames , and toss the blazing brand ? 
Till their proud navy, wrajjt in smoke and fires , 
All Greece, encompass'd, in one blaze expires. » 

Furious he said *, then bending o'er the yoke , 
Encourag'd his proud steeds , while thus he spoke : 

«Now, Xanthus , iEthon, Lampus! urge the chace ; 

And thou , Podargus ! prove thy generous race : 

Be fleet , be fearless , this important day, 

And all your master's well-spent care repay. 

For this , high-fed in plenteous stalls ye stand , 

Serv'd with pure wheat , and by a princess' hand ; 

For this my spouse , of great Aetion's line , 

So oft lias steep'd the strengthening grain in wine. 

Now swift pursue , now thunder uncontroul'd ; 

Give me to seize rich Nestor's shield of gold ; 

From Tydeus' shoulders strip the costly load , 

Vulcanian arms, the labour of a god : 

These if we gain, then victory, ye powers ! 

This night , this glorious night, the fleet is ours. » 
That heard , deep anguish stung Saturnia's soul ; 

She shook her throne , that shook the starry pole i 



BOOK YIII. 1 30 

And thus to Neptune : « Thou, whose force can make 
The stedfast earth from her foundations shake , 
See'st thou the Greeks by fates unjust opprest , 
Nor swells that heart in thy immortal breast l . 
Yet JEgre , Helice , thy power obey, 
And gifts unceasing on thine altars lay. 
Would all the deities of Greece combine , 
In vain the gloomy Thunderer might repine ! 
Sole should he sit, with scarce a god to friend , 
And see his Trojans to the shades descend : 
Such be the scene from his Idaean bower ; 
Ungrateful prospect to the sullen power ! » 

TVeptune with wrath rejects the rash design : 
« What rage , what madness , furious queen y is thine I 
I war not with the highest. All above 
Submit and tremble at the hand of Jove. » 

Now godlike Hector, to whose matchless might 
Jove gave the glory of the destin'd light , 
Squadrons on squadrons drives , and fills the fields 
With close-rang'd chariots , and with thicken'd shields. 
"Where the deep trench in length extended lay, 
Compacted troops stand wedg'd in firm array > 
A dreadful front ! they shake the brands , and threat 
With long-destroying flames the hostile fleet. 
The king of men, by Juno's self inspir'd , 
ToilM thro' the tents , and all his army fir'd. 
Swift as he mov'd , he lifted in his hand 
His purple robe , bright ensign of command. 
High on the midmost bark the king appear' d ; 
There , from Ulysses' deck , his voire was heard. 
To Ajax and Achilles reaeh'd the sound , 
Whose distant ships the guarded navy bound. 
« Oh Argivcs ! shame of human race ! .( he cried, 
The hollow vessels to his voice reply'd,) 
Where now are all your glorious boasts of yore , 
Your hasty triumphs on the Lemnian shore l . 
Each fearless hero dares an hundred foes , 
While the feast lasts , and while the goblet flows ; 
But who to meet one martial man is found , 
"W hen the fight rages , and the flames surround ? 
O mighty Jove ! oh sire of the distressed ! 
Was ever king like me, like mc oppre^'d 2 



l54 HO M Ell's ILIAD. 

With power immense , with justice arm' J in vain . 
My glory ravish'd , and my people slain ! 
To thee my vows were breath'd from every shore ', 
What altar suiok'd not with our victims' gore l . 
With fat of bulls I fed the constant fkr:e , 
And ask'd destruction to the Trojan name. 
Wow, gracious god ! far humbler our demand; 
Give these at least t' escape from Hector's hand , 
And save the relics of the Grecian land! » ' \ 

Thus pray'd the king , and heaven's great Father heard 
His vows , in bitterness of soul preferr'd ; 
The wrath appeas'd , by happy signs declares, 
And gives the people to their monarch's prayers. 
His eagle , sacred bird of heaven ! he sent , 
A fawn his talons truss'd, divine portent I 
High o'er the wondering hosts he soar'd above, 
Who paid their vows to Panomphaean Jove : 
Then let the prey before his altar fall ; 
The Greeks beheld, and transport seiz'd on all ; 
Encourag'd by the sign, the troops revive , 
And fierce on Troy, with double fury drive. 
Tydides first, of all the Grecian force, 
O'er the broad ditch impell'd his foaming horse, 
Pierc'd the deep ranks, their strongest battle tore 7 
And dy'd his javelin red with Trojan gore. 
Young Agelaus , Phradmon was his sire , 
With' flying coursers shunn'd his dreadful ire : 
Struck thro' the back, the Phrygian fell opprest; 
The dart drove on , and issued at his breast : 
Headlong he quits the car ; his arms resound ; 
His ponderous buckler thunders on the ground. 
Forth rush a tide of Greeks, the passage freed *, 
Th' Atridaz first, th' Ajaces next succeed : 
Meriones , like Mars , in arms renown'd , 
And godlike Idomen , now pass'd the mound ; 
Evsemon's son next issues to the foe , 
And last , young Teucer with his bended bow ; 
Secure behind the Telamonian shield 
The skilful archer wide survey'd the field , 
With every shaft some hostile victim slew , 
Then close beneath the sevenfold orb withdrew : 



BOOK VIII. 1*X3 

The conscious infant so , when fear alarms , 
Retires for safety to the mother's arms : 
Thus Ajax guards his brother in the field , 
Moves as he moves, and turns the shining shield. 
Who first by Teucer's mortal arrows hied I 
Orsilochus; then fell Ormenus dead ; 
The godlike Lycophon next press'd the plain , 
With Chromius , Daetor, OpheJestes slain ; 
Bold Hamopaon breathless sunk to ground ; 
The bloo:ly pile great Melanippus crown'd. 
Heaps fell on heaps, sad trophies of his art, 
A Trojan ghost attended every dart. 
Great Agamemnon views , with joyful eye , 
The ranks grow thinner as his arrows fly ; 
<c Oh youth for ever dear ! (the monarch cry'd , ) 
Thus , always thus , thy early worth be try'd ; 
Thy brave example shall retrieve our host, 
Thy country's saviour, and thy father's boast ! 
Sprung from an alien's bed thy sire to grace , 
The vigorous offspring of a stoli'n embrace , 
Proud of his boy, he own'd the generous flame , 
And the brave son repays his cares with fame; 
Now hear a monarch's vow : if heaven's high powers 
Give me to raze Troy's long defended towers, 
Whatever treasures Greece for me design , 
The next rich honorary gift be thine : 
Some golden tripod , or distinguished car, 
With coursers dreadful in the ranks of w r ar, 
Or some fair captive whom thy eyes approve , 
Shall recompense the warrior's toils with love. » 

To this the chief : c< With praise the rest inspire , 
Nor urge a soul already fill'd with fire. 
What strength I have, be now in battle try'd, 
Till every shaft in Phrygian blood be dy'd : 
Since rallying from our wall we forc'd the foe, 
Still aim'd at Hector have I bent my bow : 
Eight forky arrows from this hand have fled , 
And eight bold heroes by their points lie dead ; 
But sure some god denies me to destroy 
This fury of the field , this dog of Troy. » 

He said, and twang' d the string. T he weapon flies 
At Hector's breast, and sings along the skies; 



i56 bomer's ILIAD. 

Ke miss'd the mark ; but pierc'd Gorgythio's heart . 

And drench'd in royal blood the thirsty dart. 

Fair Castianira , nymph of form divine, 

This offspring added to king Priam's line. 

As full-blown poppies , overcharg'd with rain , 

Decline the head, and drooping kiss the plain; 

So sinks the youth : his beauteous head , deprest 

Beneath his helmet, drops upon his breast. 

Anoi her shaft the raging archer drew : 

That other shaft with erring fury flew ; 

From Hector Phoebus turn'd the flying wound , 

Yet fell not dry or guiltless to the ground : 

Thy breast, brave Archeptolemus! it tore, 

And dipt its feathers in no vulgar gore. 

Headlong he falls : his sudden fall alarms 

The steeds, that startle at his sounding arms. 

Hector with grief his charioteer beheld , 

All pale and breathless on the sanguine field. 

Then bids Cebriones direct the rein , 

Quits his bright car, and issues on the plain. 

Dreadful he shouts : from earth a stone he took , 

And rush'd on Teucer with the lifted rock. 

The youth already strain'd the forceful yew ; 

The shaft already to his shoulder drew ; 

The feather in his hand, just wing'd for flight, 

Touch'd where ihe neck and hollow chest unite; 

There, where the juncture knits the channel bone, 

The furious chief discharged the craggy stone : 

The bow-string burst beneath the ponderous blow, 

And his numb'd hand dismiss'd his useless bow. 

He fell : but Ajax his broad shield display'd , 

And screen'd his brother with a mighty shade ; 

Till great Aiastor, and Mecistheus , bore 

The batter' d archer groaning to the shore. 

Troy yet found grace before th' Olympian sire, 
He arm'd their hands, and fill'd their breasts with fire. 
The Greeks repuls'd , retreat behind their wall , 
Or in the trench on heaps confus'dly fall. 
First of the foe, great Hector march' d along, 
With terror cloth'd , and more than mortal strong. 
As the bold hound that gives the lion chace , 
With beating bosom , and with eager pace, 



BOOK VIII. 167 

Hangs on his haunch , or fastens on his heels , 
Guards as he turns , and circles as he wheels : 
Thus oft the Grecians turn'd , hut still they flew -, 
Thus following Hector stiil the hindmost slew ; 
When Hying they had pass'd the trench profound, 
And many a chief lay gasping on the ground *, 
Before the ships a desperate stand they made , 
And fiVd the troops , and call'd the gods to aid. 
Fierce on his rattling chariot Hector came ; 
His eyes like Gorgon shot a sanguine flame 
That wither'd all their host : like Mars he stood , 
Dire as the monster, dreadful as the god I 
Their strong distress the wife of Jove survey'd; 
Then pensive , thus to war's triumphant maid : 

« Oh daughter of that god , whose arm can wield 
Th' avenging holt, and shake the sable shield ! 
Now , in this moment of her last despair, 
Shall wretched Greece no more confess our care, 
Condemn'd to suffer the full force of fate , 
And drain the dregs of heaven's relentless hate 1 
Gods! shall one raging hand thus level all ! 
What numbers fell! what numbers yet shall falH 
What power divine shall Hector's wrath assuage ! 
Still swells the slaughter, and still grows the rage ! » 

So spake th' imperial regent of the skies : 
To whom the goddess with the azure eyes : 
« Long since had Hector stain'd these fields with gore , 
Stretch'd by some Argive on his native shore •, 
But he above , the Sire of heaven , withstands , 
Mocks our attempts, and slights our just demands. 
The stubborn god, inflexible and hard, 
Forgets my service and deserv'd reward : 
Sav'd T , for this , his favourite son * distress' J 
By stern Euristheus , with long labours press'd? 
He begg'd, with tears he begg'd, in deep dismay, 
I shot from heaven , and gave his arm the day. 
Oh had my wisdom known this dire event, 
When to <_rim Pluto's gloomy gates he went, 
The tripple dog had never felt his chain , 
Kor Styx been cross'd, nor hell explor'd in vain! 

* Hercules 



i58 

Averse to me of all Lis heaven of gods , 

At Thetis' suit the partial Thunderer nods. 

To grace her gloomy, fierce , resenting son , 

My hopes are frustrate, and my Greeks undone. 

Some future day, perhaps , he may be mov'd 

To call his blue eyed maid his best belov'd. 

Haste , launch thy chariot , thro' yon ranks to ride ; 

Myself will arm, and thunder at thy side. 

Then, goddess! say, shall Hector glory then, 

That terror of the Greeks , that man of men , 

When Juno's self, and Pallas shall appear, 

All dreadful in the crimson walks of war l 

What mighty Trojan then, on yonder shore, 

Expiring , pale , and terrible no more , 

Shall feast the fowls , and glut the dogs with gore ? » 

She ceas'd , and Juno rein'd the steeds with cai e ; 
Heaven's awful empress, Saturn's other heir : 
Pallas, meanwhile, her various veil unbound, 
With flowers adorn'd , with art immortal crown'd ; 
The radiant robe her sacred fingers wove , 
Floats in rich waves, and spreads the court of Jove. 
Her father's arms her mighty limbs invest , 
His cuirass blazes on her ample breast. 
The vigorous power the trembling car ascends; 
Shook by her arm , the massy javelin bends , 
Huge, ponderous, strong! that, when her fury burns , 
Proud tyrants humbles , and whole hosts o'erturns. 

Saturnia lends the lash : the coursers fly, 
Smooth glides the chariot thro' the liquid sky. 
Heaven's gates spontaneous open to the powers , 
Heaven's golden gates , kept hj the winged Hours. 
Commissioned in alternate watrh they stand , 
The sun's bright portals and the skies command , 
Close , or unfold , ih' eternal gates of day, 
Bar heaven with clouds , or roll those clouds aw T ay. 
The sounding hinges ring, the clouds divide; 
Prone down the sleep of heaven their course they guide. 
But Jove , incens'd , from Ida's top survey'd , 
And thus enjoin'd the ma<jy-eolour'd maid : 

« Thaumantia ! mount the winds , and stop their car : 
Against the highest who shall wage the war I 



BOOK VIII. l5p 

II furious yet they dare the vain debate , 
Thus have I spoke , and what I speak is fate. 
Their coursers crush' d beneath the wheels .shall lie , 
Their car in fragments scatter'd o'er the sky : 
My lightning these rebellious shall confound , 
And hurl them flaming headlong to the ground , 
Condemn'd for ten revolving years to weep 
The wounds impress'd by burning thunder deep. 
So shall Minerva learn to fear our ire , 
Nor dare to combat tier's and nature's Sire. 
For Juno , headstrong and imperious still, 
She claims some title to transgress our will. » 

Swift as the wind , the various-colour'd maid 
From Ida's top her golden wings display'd *, 
To great Olympus' shining gates she flies , 
There meets the chariot rushing down the skies ; 
Restrains their progress from the bright abodes , 
And speaks the mandate of the Sire of gods. 

« What frenzy, goddesses ! what rage can move 
Celestial minds to tempt the wrath of Jove l . 
Desist , obedient to his high command ; 
This is his word ; and know , his word shall stand, 
His lightning your rebellion shall confound , 
And hurl you headlong flaming to the ground : 
Your horses crush'd beneath the wheels shall lie , 
Your car in fragments scatter'd o'er the sky : 
Yourselves condemn'd ten rolling years to weep 

The wounds impress'd by burning thunder deep. 

So shall Minerva learn to fear his ire , 

3Nor dare to combat her's and nature's Sire. 

For Juno, headstrong and imperious still , 

She claims some title to transgress his will: 

Hut thee , what desperate insolence has driven , 

To lift thy lance against the king of heaven ! w 

Then mounting on the pinions of the wind 

She flew ; and Juno thus her rage resign'd: 

« O daugther of that god , whose arm can wield 

Th' avenging bolt, and shake the dreadful shield ! 

No more let beings of superior birth 

Contend with Jove for this low race of earth: 

Triumphant now, now miserably slain, 

They breathe or perish as the fates ordain. 



l6o HOMER'S ILIAD. 

But Jove's high counsels full effect shall find, 

And ever constant , ever rule mankind. » 

She spoke, and backward turn'd her steeds of light, 
Adorn'd with manes of gold, and heavenly bright. 
The Hours unloos'd them , panting as they stood , 
And heap'd their mangers with ambrosial food. 
There ty'd , they rest in high celestial stalls ; 
The chariot propt against the crystal walls. 
The pensive goddesses, abash'd, controul'd, 
Mix with the gods , and fill their seats of gold. 

And now the Thunderer meditates his flight 
From Ida's summits to th' Olympian height. 
Swifter than thought the wheels instinctive fly, 
Flame thro' the vast of air , and reach the sky. 
'Twas Neptune's charge his coursers to unbrace , 
And fix the car on its immortal base; 
There stood the chariot, beaming forth its rajs , 
Till with a snowy veil he screen'd the blaze. 
He, whose all-conscious eyes the world behold, 
Th' eternal Thunderer, sat thron'din gold. 
High heaven the footstool oFhis feet he makes, 
And wide beneath him all Olympus shakes. 
Trembling afar th' offending powers appeal 'd 
Confus'd and silent , for his frown they fear'd. 
He saw their soul , and thus his word imparts : 
« Pallas and Juno! say, why heave your hearts? 
Soon was your battle o'er : Proud Troy retir'd 
Before your face, and in your wrath expir'd. 
Bat know , whoe'er almighty power withstand , 
Unmatch'd our force , unconquer'd is our hand • 
Vv 7 ho shall the sovereign of the skies controul k 
Not all the gods that crown the starry pole. 
Your hearts shall tremble , if our arms we take , 
And each immortal nerve with horror shake. 
For thus I spoke , and what I speak shall stand ; 
What power soe'er provokes our lifted hand, 
On this our hill no more shall hold his place , 
Cut off, and exil'd from th' aethereal race. » 

Juno and Pallas grieving, hear the doom , 
But feast their souls on Ilion's woes to come. 
Tho' secret anger swell'd Minerva's breast , 
The prudent goddess yet her wratfcl rcprest *, 



BOOK VIII. l6l 

But Juno , impotent of rage , replies : 
« What hast thou said, oh tyrant of the skies ! 
Strength and omnipotence invest thy throne *, 
'Tis thine to punish ; ours to grieve alone. 
For Greece we grieve , abandon'd by her fate , 
To drink the dregs of thy unmeasur'd hate: 
From fields forbidden we submiss refrain , 
With arms unaiding see our Argives slain ; 
Yet grant our counsels still their breasts may move , 
Lest all should perish in the rage of Jove. » 

The goddess thus ; and thus the god replies , 
Who swells the clouds , and blackens all the skies : 
« The morning sun , awak'd by loud alarms , 
Shall see th' almighty Thunderer in arms. 
What heaps of Argives then shall load the plain , 
Those radiant eyes shall view, and view in vain. 
Nor shall great Hector cease the rage of fight , 
The navy flaming, and thy Greeks in flight, 
Ev'n till the day when certain fates ordain j 

That stern Achilles , his Patroclus slain , I 

Shall rise in vengeance , and lay waste the plain. 
For such is fate , nor canst thou turn its course 
W r ith all thy rage , with all thy rebel force. 
Fly, if thou wilt, to earth's remotest bound , 
Where on the utmost verge the seas resound ; 
Where curs'd Japetus and Saturn dwell , 
Fast by the brink , within the steams of hell : 
No sun e'er gilds the gloomy horrors there , 
No cheerful gales refresh the lazy air ; 
There arm once more the bold Titanian band; 
And arm in vain ; for what I will shall stand. » 

Now deep in ocean sunk the lamp of light , 
And drew behind the cloudy veil of night : 
The conquering Trojans mourn his beams decay'd; 
The Greeks, rejoicing , bless the friendly shade. 

The victors keep the field ; and Hector calls 
A martial council near the navy walls ; 
These to Scamander's bank apart he led , 
Where, thinly scattered, lay the heaps of dead. 
Th' assembled chiefs , descending on the ground , 
Attend his order , and their prince surround. 



10'2 

A massy spear he bore \ of mighty strength , 

Of full ten cubits was the lance's length ; 

The point was brass , refulgent to behold , 

Fix'd to the wood with circling rings of gold S 

The noble Hector on this lance reclin'd , 

And bending forward , thus reveal'd his mind ; 

« Ye valiant Trojans , with attention hear ! 
Ye Dardan bands, and generous aids, give ear ! 
This day, we hop'd, would wrap in conquering Ha me 
Greece with her ships , and crown our toils with fame \ 
But darkness now , to save the cowards , falls , 
And guards them trembling in their wooden walls. 
Obey the JNight, aud use her peaceful hours 
Our steeds to forage , aud refresh our powers. 
Straight from the town be sheep and oxen sought , 
And strengthening bread , and generous wine be brought. 
Wide o'er the held , high blazing to the sky , 
Let numerous fires the absent sun supply , 
The flaming piles with plenteous fuel raise ? 
Till the bright morn her purple beams displays *, 
Lest in the silence and the shades of night , 
Greece on her sable ships attempt her flight. 
Not unmolested let the wretches gain 
Their lofty decks , or safely cleave the main *, 
Some hostile wound let every dart bestow, 
Some lasting token of the Phrygian foe ; 
Wounds , that long hence may ask their spouses' care , 
And warn their children from a Trojan war. 
JVow thro' the circuit of our Ilion wall , 
Let sacred heralds sound the solemn call ; 
To bid the sires with hoary honours crow n'd , 
And beardless youths , our battlements surround. 
Firm be the guard , while distant lie our powers , 
And let the matrons hang with lights the towers : 
Lest , under cover of the midnight shade , 
Th' insidious foe the naked town invade. 
Suffice, to-night, these orders to obey; 
A nobler charge shalle rouse the dawning day. 
The gods , I trust , shall give to Hector's hand , 
From these detested foes to free the land , 
Who plow'd , with fates averse , the watery way, 
For Trojan vultures a predestiii'd prej'. 



EH 



book vim i63 

Our common safety must be now the care; 
But soon as morning paints the fields of air, 
Sheath'd in bright arms let every troop engage , 
And the fir'd fleet behold the battle rage. 
Then , then shall Hector and Tydides prove 
Whose fates are heaviest in the scale of Jove. 
To-morrow's light, oh haste the glorious morn ! 
Shall see his bloody spoils in triumph born ; 
With this keen javelin shall his breast be gor'd. 
And prostrate heroes bleed around their lord. 
Certain as this, oh! might my days endure , 
From age inglorious , and black death secure ! 
So might my life and glory know no bound , 
Like Pallas worshipp'd , like the sun renown' d 1 
As the next dawn , the last they shall enjoy, 
Shall crush the Greeks , and end the woes of Troy ! w 

The leader spoke. From all his host around 
Shouts of applause along the shores resound. 
Each from the yoke the smoking steeds unty'd, 
And fix'd their headstalls to his chariot side. 
Fat sheep and oxen from the town are led , 
W r ith generous wine , and ail-sustaining bread. 
Full hecatombs lay burning on the shore ; 
The winds to heaven the curling vapours bore. 
Ungrateful offering to th' immortal powers ! 
Whose wrath hung heavy o'er the Trojan towers; 
Nor Priam nor his sons obtain'd their grace ; 
Proud Troy they hated, and her guilty race. 

The troops exulting sat in order round , 
And beaming fires illumin'd all the ground. 
As when the moon , refulgent lamp of night ! 
O'er heaven's clear azure spreads her sacred light , 
When not a breath disturbs the deep serene , 
And not a cloud o'ercasts the solemn scene ; 
Around her throne the vivid planets roll, 
And stars unnumber'd gild the glowing pole, 
O'er the dark trees a yellower verdure shed, 
And tipt with silver every mountain's head ; 
Then shine the vales , the rocks in prospect rise , 
A flood of glory bursts from all the skies : 
The conscious swains, rejoicing in the sight , 
Eye the blue vault , and bless the useful light : 



l64 HOMEil's ILIAD. BOOK Till- 

So many flames before proud IJion blaze , 
And lighten glimmering Xanthus with their rays: 
The long reflections of the distant fires 
Gleam on the walls, and tremble on the spires. 
A thousand piles the dusky horrors gild , 
And shoot a shady lustre o'er the field. 
Full fifty guards each flaming pile attend , 
Whose number'd arms , by fits, thick flashes send. 
Loud neigh the coursers o'er their heaps of corn , 
And ardent warriors wait the rising morn. 



THE ARGUMENT. 

The embassy to Adiill&s* 

Agamemnon, after the last day's defeat, proposes to the 
Greeks to quit the siege, and return to their country. Dio- 
nied opposes this , and Nestor seconds him , praising his 
wisdom and resolution ; he orders the guard to be strengthen- 
ed , and a council summoned to deliberate what measures 
were to be fallowed in this emergency. Agamemnon pursues 
this advice, and Nestor farther prevails upon him to send 
ambassadors to Achilles , in order to move him to a recon- 
ciliation. Ulysiies and Ajax are made choice of, who are 
accompanied by old Phoenix. They make, each of them, 
very moving and pressing speeches, but are rejected with 
roughness by Achilles, who, notwithstanding, retains Phoe- 
nix in his tent. The ambassadors return unsuccessfully to 
the camp ; and the troops betake themselves to sleep. 
This book, and the next following , take up the space of one 
night, which is the twenty-seventh from the beginning of 
the poem. The scene lies on the sea-shore , the station of 
the Grecian ships. 



unnMHii 



THE 

ILIAD. 

BOOK IX, 



J nus joyful Troy maintain'd the watch of night ; 

While fear, pale comrade of inglorious flight 

And heaven-bred horror , on the Grecian part, 

Sat on each face , and sadden' d every heart. 

As from its cloudy dungeon issuing forth, 

A double tempest of the west and north 

Swells o'er the sea , from Thracia's frozen shore , 

Heaps waves on waves , and bids th' iEgean roar ; 

This way and that , the boiling deeps are tost : 

Such various passions urg'd the troubled host. 

Great Agamemnon griev'd above the rest; 

Superior sorrows swell'd his royal breast; 

Himself his orders to the heralds bears, 

To bid to council all the Grecian peers ; 

But bid in whispers : these surround their chief 

In solemn sadness and majestic grief. 

The king amidst the mournful circle rose; 

Down his wan cheek a briny torrent flows. 

So silent fountains , from a rock's tall head , 

In sable streams soft-trickling waters shed. 

With more than vulgar grief he stood opprest ; 

W r ords, mix'd with sighs , thus bursting from his breast 

« Ye sons of Greece ! partake your leader's care , 
Fellows in arms , and princes of the war ! 
Of partial Jove too justly we complain, 
And heavenly oracles believ'd in vain : 
A safe return was promis'd to our toi's , 
With conquest honour'd , and enrich'd with spoils : 
Now shameful flight alone can save the host; 
Our wealth , our people , and our glory lost. 
So Jove decrees , Almighty Lord of all ! 
Jove, at whose nod whole empires rise or fall , 



i68 homer's ILIAD. 

Who shakes the feeble props of human trust, 
And towers and armies humbles to the dust. 
Haste then , for ever quit these fatal fields , 
Haste to the joys our native country yields ; 
Spread all your canvass , all your oars employ, 
IVor hope the fall of heaven-defended Troy. » 

He said *, deep silence held the Grecian hand ; 
Silent, unmov'd , in dire dismay they stand , 
A pensive scene ! till Tydeus' warlike son 
Pioll'd on the king his eyes , and thus begun : 

« When kings advise us to renounce our fame , 
First let him speak, who first has suffer'd shame. 
If I oppose thee , prince , thy wrath withhold , 
The laws of council bid my tongue be bold. 
Thou first , and thou alone , in fields of fight , 
Durst brand my courage , and defame my might : 
Not from a friend th' unkind reproach appear'd , 
The Greeks stood witness , all our army heard. 
The gods, O chief ! from whom our honours spring, 
The gods have made thee but by halves a king ; 
They gave thee sceptres , and a wide command , 
They gave dominion o'er the seas and land 5 
The noblest power that might the w T orld controul 
They gave thee not — a brave and virtuous soul. 
Is this a general's voice , that would suggest 
Fears like his own to every Grecian breast ? 
Confiding in our want of worth , he stands, 
And if we fly , 'tis what our king commands. 
Go thou , inglorious ! from th' embattled plain ; 
Ships thou hast store , and nearest to the main ', 
A nobler care the Grecians shall employ , 
To combat , conquer, and extirpate Troy. 
Here Greece shall stay ; or if all Greece retire , 
Myself will stay, till Troy or I expire ; 
Myself and Sthenelus will tight for fame ; 
God bade us fight , and 'twas with God we came. » 

He ceas'd; the Greeks loud acclamations raise, 
And voice to voice resounds Tydides' praise. 
Wise Nestor then his reverend figure rear'd ; 
He spoke : the host in still attention heard. 

« O truly great ! in whom the gods have join'd 
Such strength of body with such force of mind; 



BOOK IX. l6p 

In conduct , as in courage , you excel , 
Still first to act what you advise so well. 
Those wholesome counsels winch thy wisdom moves, 
Applauding Greece , with common voice , approves. 
Kings thou canst blame ; a hold, hut prudent youth ; 
And hlame ev'n kings with praise, because with truth. 
And yet those years that since thy birth have run, 
Would hardly style thee Nestor's youngest son- 
Then let me add what yet remains behind , 
A thought unfinish'd in that generous mind ; 
Age bids me speak ! nor shall th' advice I bring 
Distaste the people , or offend the king. 

« Curs'd is the man , and void of law and right , 
Unworthy property , unworthy light , 
Unfit for public rule , or private care ', 
That wretch, that monster, who delights in war : 
Whose lust is murder, and whose horrid joy, 
To tear his country, and his kind destroy ! 
This night, refresh and fortify thy train •, 
Between the trench and wall let guards remain : 
Be that the duty of the young and bold ; 
But thou , O king, to council call the old: 
Great is thy sway, and weighty are thy cares ; 
Thy high commands must spirit all our wars. 
With Thracian wines recruit thy honoured guests . 
For happy counsels flow from sober feasts. 
Wi6e , weighty counsels aid a state distrest, 
And such a monarch as can chuse the best. 
See ! what a blaze from hostile tents aspires , 
How near our fleet approach the Trojan fires ! 
Who can , unmov'd , behold the dreadful light , 
What eye beholds them , and can close to-night i 
This dreadful interval determines all; 
To-morrow, Troy must flame, or Greece must fall! u 

Thus spoke the hoary sage : the rest obey ; 
Swift thro 1 the gates the guards direct their way. 
His son was first to pass the lofty mound , 
The generous Thrasymed , in arms renown'd : 
Next him, Ascalaphus , Jalmen , stood, 
The double offspring of the warrior-god; 
Deipyrus, Aphareus, Merion, join , 
And Lycomed, of Creon's noble line. 



1~0 HOMERS ILIAD. 

Seven were the leaders of the nightly bands , 
And each bold chief a hundred spears commands. 
The fires they light, to short repasts they fall , 
Some line the trench , and others man the wall. 

The king of men, on public counsels bent, 
Conven'd the princes in his ample tent : 
Each seiz'd a portion of the kingly feast , 
But staid his hand when thirst and hunger ceas'd. 
Then Nestor spoke, for wisdom long approv'd , 
And slowly rising , thus the council mov'd : 

« Monarch of nations , whose superior sway 
Assembled states, and lords of earth obey , 
The laws and sceptres to thy hand are given , 
And millions own the care of thee and heaven. 

king ! the counsels of my age attend ; 
With thee my cares begin , in thee must end ; 
Thee, prince ! it fits alike to speak and hear , 
Pronounce with judgment, with regard give ear , 
To see no wholesome motion be withstood , 
And ratify the best for public good. 

Nor, tho' a meaner give advice , repine , 
But follow it , and make the wisdom thine. 
Hear then a thought , not now conceiv'd in haste ? 
At once my present judgment and my past; 
When from Pelides' tent you forc'd the maid , 

1 first oppos'd , and , faithful , durst dissuade ; 
But bold of soul , when headlong fury fir'd , 
You wrong'd the man, by men and gods admir'd ; 
Now seek some means his fatal wrath to end , 
With prayers to move him , or with gifts to bend. » 

To whom the king : a With justice hast thou shown 
A prince's faults , and I with reason own. 
That happy man whom Jove still honours most , 
Is more than armies , and himself an host. 
Blest in his love , this wonderous hero stands ; 
Heaven fights his war, and humbles all our bands. 
Fain would my heart , which err'd thro' frantic rage , 
The wrathful chief and angry gods assuage. 
If gifts immense his mighty soul can bow, 
Hear, all ye Greeks , and witness what I vow : 
Ten weighty talents of the purest gold , 
Ant twice ten vases of refulgent mould *, 



BOOK IX. 171 

Seven sacred tripods , whose unsully'd frame 
Yet knows no office, nor has felt the flame ; 
Twelve steeds unmatch'd in fleetness and in force , 
And still victorious in the dusty course ; 
Rich were the man whose ample stores exceed 
The prizes purchas'd hy their winged speed *, 
Seven lovely captives of the Lesbian line , 
Skill'd in each art , unmatch'd , in form divine , 
The same I chose for more than vulgar charms , 
When Lesbos sunk beneath the hero's arms. 
All these , to buy his friendship , shall be paid , 
And , join'd with these , the long-contested maid •, 
Wiih all her charms , Briseis I resign , 
And solemn swear those charms were never mine ; 
Untouch'd she stay'd , uninjur'd she removes , 
Pure from my arms, and guiltless of my loves. 
These , instant , shall be his •, and if the powers 
Give to our arms proud Ilion's hostile towers , 
Then shall he store , when Greece the spoil divides , 
With gold and brass his loaded navy's sides. 
Besides , full twenty nymphs of Trojan race , 
With copious love shall crown his warm embrace ; 
Such as himself will choose *, who yield to none , 
Or yield to Helen's heavenly charms alone. 
Yet hear me farther : when our wars are o'er , 
If safe we land on Argos' fruitful shore , 
There shall he live my son , our honours share , 
And with Orestes' self divide my care. * 
Yet more — three daughters in my court are bred , 
And each well worthy of a royal bed ; 
Laodice and Iphigenia fair , 
And bright Chrysothemis with golden hair ; 
Her let him choose , whom most his eyes approve ; 
I ask no presents , no reward for love *, 
Myself will give the dower ; so vast a store , 
As never father gave a child before. 
Seven ample cities shall confess his sway ; 
.Him Enope, and Pherae him obey , 
Cardamyle with ample turrets crown'd, 
And sacred Pedasus for vines renown'd , 
/Epea fair, the pastures Rira yields, 
And rich Antheia with her flowery fields: 



1J2, HOMER S ILIAD. 

The whole extent to Pylos' sandy plain , 

Along the verdant margin of the main ; 

Their heifers graze, and labouring oxen toil ; 

Bold are the men , and generous is the soil ; 

There shall he reign, with power and justice crown'd , 

And rule the tributary realms around. 

Ail this I give , his vengeance to controul , 

And sure all this may move his mighty soul. 

Pluto , the grisly god , who never spares , 

Who feels no mercy, and who hears no prayers , 

Lives dark and dreadful in deep hell's abodes , 

And mortals hate him , as the worst of gods. 

Great though he be, it fits him to obey ; 

Since more than his my years , and more my sway. *> 

The monarch thus. The reverend Nestor then; 
« Great Agamemnon ! glorious king of men ! 
Such are thy offers as a prince may take , 
And such as fits a generous king to make. 
Let chosen delegates this hour be sent , 
Myself will name them , to Pelides' tent. 
Let Phoenix lead , rever'd for hoary age , 
Great Ajax next, and Ithacus the sage ; 
Yet more to sanctify the word you send , 
Let Hodius and Eurybates attend. 
Now pray to Jove to grant what Greece demands ; 
Pray in deep silence, and with purest hands. » 

He said , and all approv'd. The heralds bring 
The cleansing water from the living spring. 
The youth with wine the sacred goblets crown'd , 
And large libations drench'd the sands around. 
The rite performed, the chiefs their thirst allay, 
Then from the royal tent they take their way ; 
Wise Nestor turns on each his careful eye , 
Forbids t'offend , instructs them to apply : 
Much he advis'd them all , Ulysses most , 
To deprecate the chief, and save the host. 
Thro' the still night they march, and hear the roar 
Of murmuring billows on the sounding shore. 
To Neptune , ruler of the seas profound , 
Whose liquid arms the mighty globe surround, 
They pour forth vows their embassy to bless , 
And calm the rage of stern iEacides. 



BOOK IX. 1J 

And now arriv'd where on the sandy bay , 
The Myimidonian tents and vessels lay , 
Amus'd at ease , the godlike roan they found , 
Pleased with the solemn harp's harmonious sound. 
The well-wrought harp from conquer'd Thebae came , 
Of polish'd silver was its costly frame: 
With this he sooths his aiigry soul , and sings 
Th' immortal deeds of heroes and of kings. 
Patroclus only of the royal train , 
Plac"d in his tent, attends the lofty strain : 
Full opposite he sate , and listen'd long , 
In silence waiting till he ceas'd the song. 
Unseen the Grecian embassy proceeds 
To his high tent ; the great Ulysses leads. 
Achilles, starting, as the chiefs he spy'd , 
Leap'd from his seat , and laid the harp aside. 
With like surprise arose Menoetius' so a , 
FeJides grasp'd their hands , and thus begun : 

« Princes , all hail ! whatever brought you here , 
Or strong necessity, or urgent fear; 
Welcome , tho' Greeks! for not as foes ye came ; 
To me more dear than all that bear the name. » 

With that, the chiefs beneath his roof he led , 
And plac'd in seats with purple carpets spread. 
Then thus : « Patroclus , crown a larger bowl , 
Mix purer wine, and open every soul. 
Of all the warriors yonder host can send , 
Thy friend most honours these , and these thy friend, w 

He said. Patroclus , o'er the blazing fire , 
Heaps in a brazen vase three chines entire : 
The brazen vase Automedon sustains, 
Which flesh of porker , sheep , and goat , contains : 
Achilles at the genial feast presides , 
The parts transfixes , and with ,<kill divides. 
Meanwhile Patroclus sweats the fire to raise ; 
The tent is brighten'd with the rising blaze : 
Then , when the languid flames at length subside , 
He strows a bed of glowing embers wide , 
Above the coals the smoking fragments turns, 
And sprinkles sacred salt from lifted urns*, 
Yv ith bread the glittering canisters they load, 
V. hich round the board Menoetius' son bestow'd. 



174 HOMER 7 S ILIAD. 

Himself , opposed t' Ulysses full in sight , 
Each portion parts , and orders every rile. m 
The first fat offerings , to th' immortals due , 
Amidst the greedy flames Patroclus threw •, 
Then each , indulging in the social feast , 
His thirst and hunger soberly represt. 
That done , to Phoenix Ajax gave the sign; 
INot imperceiv'd •, Ulysses crown'd with wine 
The foaming bowl , and instant thus began , 
His speech addressing to the godlike man : 

« Health to Achilles ! happy are thy guests I 
Not those more honour'd whom Atrides feasts y 
Tho' generous plenty crown thy loaded boards, 
That Agamemnon's regal tent affords; 
But greater cares sit heavy on our souls, 
Not eas'd by banquets or by flowing bowls. 
What scenes of slaughter in yon fields appear ! 
The dead we mourn , and for the living fear ; 
Greece on the brink of fate all doubtful stands, 
And owns no help but from thy saving hands : 
Troy, and her aids , for ready vengeance call ; 
Their threatening tents already shade our wall : 
Hear how with shouts their conquest they proclaim. 
And point at every ship their vengeful flame ! 
For them the father of the gods declares , 
Theirs are his omen, and his thunder theirs. 
See , full of Jove , avenging Hector rise ! 
See ! heaven and earth the raging chief defies; 
What fury in his breast , what lightning in his eyes ! 
He waits but for the morn , to sink in flame 
The ships , the Greeks , and all the Grecian name. 
Heavens ! how my country's woes distract my mind , 
Lest fate accomplish all his rage design'd. 
And must we , gods ! our heads inglorious lay 
In Trojan dust , and this the fatal day ? 
Return , Achilles ! Oh return, tho' late, 
To save thy Greeks , and stop the course of fate ! 
If in that heart, or grief, or courage lies, 
Rise to redeem ! ah 3 et , to conquer , rise ! 
The day may come , when all our warriors slain , 
That heart shall melt ? that courage rise in vain. 



BOOK IX. 1 

Regard in time , O prince divinely brave ! 
Those wholesome counsels which thy father gave. 
When Pelens in his aged arms embrac'd 
His parting son , these accents were his last : 
My child ! with strength, with glory and success , 
Thy arms may Juno and Minerva bless I 
Trust that to heaven ; but thou , thy cares engage 
To calm thy passions , and subdue thy rage : 
From gentler manners let thy glory grow , 
And shun contention , the sure source of woe ; 
That young and old may in thy praise combine, 
The virtues of humanity be thine. — 
This, now despis'd, advice thy father gave ; 
Ah ! check thy anger , and be 'truly brave. 
If thou wilt yield to great Atrides' prayers, 
Gifts worthy thee his royal hand prepares; 
h' not — but hear me , while I number o'er 
The proffer'd presents , an exbauscless store, 
Ten weighty talents of the purest gold , 
And twice ten vases of refulgent mould ; 
Seven sacred tripods , whose unsully'd frame 
Yet knows no office , nor has felt the flame ; 
Twelve steeds unmatch'd in fieetness and in force , 
And still victorious in the dusty course: 
Rich were the man whose ample stores exceed 
The prizes purchas'd by their winged speed; 
Seven lovely captives of the Lesbian line , 
Skill' d in each art, unmatch'd, in form divine , 
The same he chose for more than vulgar charms, 
Vv hen Lesbos sunk beneath thy conquering arms. 
All these , to buy thy friendship , shall be paid , 
And, join'd with these , the long-contested maid ; 
With all her charms , Briseis he'll resign , 
And solemn swear those charms were only thine ; 
Untouched she stay'd, uninjur'd she removes, 
Pure from his arms , and guiltless of his loves. 
These , instant , shall be thine , and if the powers 
Give to our arms proud 1 lion's hostile towers , 
Then shalt thou store, when Greece the spoil divides 
With gold and brass thy loaded navy's sides. 
Eesides , full twenty mmplis of Trojan race , 
V, ith copious love*shall crown thy warm embrace: 



ij6 homer's ilia©. 

Such as thyself shall choose ; who yield to none , 

Or yield to Helen's heavenly charms a!one. 

Yet hear me farther : when our wars are o'er y 

If safe we land on Argos' fruitful shore , 

There shaft thou live his son , his honours share , 

And with Orestes' self divide his care. 

Yet more — three daughters in his court are bred, 

And e ch well worthy of a royal bed *, 

Laodice and Iphigeivia fair, 

And bright Chrysothemis with golden hair ; 

Her shalt thou wed whom most thy eyes approve ; 

He asks no presents , no reward for love : 

Himself will give the dower ; so vast a store , 

As never father gave a child before. 

Seven ample cities shall confess thy sway , 

Thee Enope , and Pherae thee obey , 

Cardamyle with ample turrets crown'd , 

And sacred Pedasus for vines renown'd ; 

iEpea fair, the pastures Hira yields , 

And rich Antheia with her flowery fields ; 

The whole extent to Pylos' sandy plain , 

Along the verdant margin of the main ; 

There heifers graze , and labouring oxen toil ; 

Bold are the men , and generous is the soil : 

There shalt thou reign , with power and justice crov. n'd , 

And rule the tributary realms around. 

Such are the proffers which this day we bring, 

Such the repentance of a suppliant king. 

But if all this, relentless , thou disdain , 

If honour , and if interest , plead in vain ; 

Yet some redress to suppliant Greece afford , 

And be, amongst her guardian gods , ador'd. 

If no regard thy suffering country claim , 

Hear thy own glory , and the voice of fame ; 

For now that chief, whose unresisted ire 

Made nations tremble , and whole hosts retire , 

Proud Hector, now, th' unequal fight demands ? 

And only triumphs to deserve thy hands. » 

Then thus the goddess born : « Ulysses , hear 
A faithful speech , that knows nor art , nor fear ", 
What in my secret soul is understood , 
My tongue shall utter , and my deeds make good. 



I 



BOOK IX. I77 

Let Greece then know , my purpose I retain , 
]Nor with new treaties vex my peace in vain. 
Who dares think one thing , and another tell , 
My heart detests him as the gates of hell. 

« Then thus , in short , my fixt resolves attend , 
Which nor Atrides, nor his Greeks can hend : 
Long toils , long perils , in their cause I bore , 
But now th' unfruitful glories charm no more. 
Fight or fight not , a like reward we claim , 
The wretch and hero find their prize the same ; 
Alike regretted in the dust he lies , 
W r ho yields ignobly, or who bravely dies. 
Of all my dangers , all my glorious pains , 
A life of labours, lo ! what fruit remains ! 
As the bold bird her helpless young attends , 
From danger guards them , and from want defends , 
In search of prey she wings the spacious air , 
And with th' untasted food supplies her care : 
For thankless Greece such hardships "nave I brav'cK 
Her wives , her infants, by my labours sav'd ; 
Long sleepless nights in heavy arms I stood, 
And sweat laborious days in dust and blood. 
I sack'd twelve ample cities on the main, 
And twelve lay smoking on the Trojan plain : 
Then at A tildes' haughty feet were laid 
The wealth I gather'd , and the spoils I made. 
Your mighty monarch these in peace possest; 
Some few my soldiers had , himself the rest. 
Some present too to every prince was paid , 
And every prince enjoys the gift he made ) 
I only must refund of all his train ; 
See what pre-eminence our merits gain! 
My spoil alone his greedy soul delights; 
My spouse alone must bless bis lustful nights : 
The woman, let him, as he may , enjoy; 
Bui what's the quarrel then of Greece to Troy? 
What tho' these shores th' assembled nations draws , 
What calls for vengeance, but a woman's caused 
Are fair endowments and a beauteous face 
Belov'd by none but those of Atreus' race? 
r i he wife whom choice and passion both approve, 
Sure every wise and worthy man will love. 



irjti HOMER'S ILIAD. 

Nor did my faire-one less distinction claim ; 

Slave as she was , my sou] ador'd the dame. 

Wrong'd in my love , all proffers I disdain ; 

Peceiv'd for once , I trust not kings again. 

Ye have my answer — what remains to do , 

Your king , Ulysses , may consult with you. 

What needs he the defence this arm can make ? 

Has he not walls no human force can shake l . 

Has he not fenc'd his guarded navy round, 

With piles, with ramparts, and a trench profound? 

And will not these , the wonders he has done , 

Repel the rage of Priam's single son v 

There was a time , 'twas when for Greece I fought , 

When Hector's prowess no such wonders wrought ; 

He kept the verge of Troy , nor dar'd to wait ) 

Achilles' fury at the Scsean gate ; > 

He try'd it once , and scarce was sav'd by fate. \ 

But now those ancient enmities are o'er ; 

To-morrow we the favouring gods implore; 

Then shall you see our parting vessels crown'd, 

And hear with oars the Hellespont resound. 

The third day hence , shall Phthia greet our sails , 

If mighty Neptune send propitious gales ; 

Phthia to her Achilles shall restore 

The wealth he left for this detested shore; 

Thither the spoils of this long war shall pass , 

The ruddy gold , the steel , and shining brass ; 

My beauteous captives thither I'll convey, 

And all that rests of my unravish'd prey. 

One only valu'd gift your tyrant gave , 

And that resum'd , the fair Lyrnessian slave. 

Then tell him, loud, that all the Greeks may hear. 

And learn to scorn the wretch they basely fear ; 

For, arrn'd in impudence , mankind he braves, 

And meditates new cheats on all his slaves ; 

Tho' shameless as he is , to face these eyes 

Is what he dares not ; if he dares , he dies ; 

Tell him , all terms, all commerce , I decline , ) 

Nor share his council, nor his battle join : 

For once deceiv'd, was his ; but twice , were mine. 

No — let the stupid prince, whom Jove deprives 

Of sense and justice, rim where frenzy drives ; 



I 



BOOK IX, 179 

His gifts are hateful : kings of such a kind 
Stand but as slaves before a noble mind. 
Not tho' he proffer'd all himself possest, 
And all his rapine could from others wrest ; 
Not all the golden tides of wealth that crown 
The many-peopled Orchomenian town ; 
Not all proud Thebes' unrival'd walls contain, 
The world's great empress on th' Egyptian plain , 
That spreads her conquest o'er a thousand states ; 
And pours her heroes thro' a hundred gates, 
Two hundred horsemen, and two hundred cars, 
Prom each wide portal issuing to the wars *, 
Tho' bribes were heap'd on bribes, in number more 
Than dust in fields , or sands along the shore ; 
Should all these offers for my friendship call, 
'Tis he that offers, and I scorn them all. 
Atrides' daughter never shall be led, 
An ill-match'd consort , to Achilles' bed , 
Like golden Venus tho' she charm' d the heart , 
And vy'd with Pallas in the works of art. 
Some greater Greek let those high nuptials grace, 
I hate alliance with a tyrant's race. 
If heaven restore me to my realms with life, 
The reverend Peleus shall elect my wife ; 
Thessalian nymphs there are , of form divine , 
And kings that sue to mix their blood with mine. 
Blest in kind love , my years shall glide away, 
Content with just hereditary sway ; 
There , deaf for ever to the martial strife , 
Enjoy the dear prerogative of life : 
Life is not to be bought with heaps of gold-, 
Not all Apollo's Pythian treasures hold , 
Or Troy once held, in peace and pride of sway, 
Can bribe the poor possession of a day! 
Lost herds and treasures , we by arms regain, 
And steeds unrival'd on tbe dusty plain ; 
But from our lips the vital spirit fled, 
Returns no more to wake the silent dead. 
My fates long since by Thetis were disclos'd , 
Ana each alternate, life or fame v proposed; 
Here, if I stay, before the Trojan town, 
Short is my date, but deathless my renown : 



l8o HOMER'S ILIAD, 

If I return, I quit immortal praise 

For years on years, and long extended days. 

Convinc'd, tho' late , I find my fond mistake, 

And warn the Greeks the wiser choice to make; 

To quit these shores , their native seats enjoy, 

Nor hope the fall of heaven-defended Troy. 

Jove's arm display'd asserts her from the skies , 

Her hearts are strengthened, and her glories rise. 

Go, then, to Greece report our fix'd design-, 

Bid all your counsels , all your armies join, 

Let all your forces, all your arts conspire, 

To save the ships , the troops , the chiefs from fire. 

One stratagem has fail'd, and others will : 

Ye find Achilles is unconquer'd still. 

Go then — digest my message as ye may — 

But here this night let reverend Phoenix stay : 

His tedious toils and hoary hairs demand 

A peaceful death in Phthia's friendly land. 

But whether he remain or sail with me, 

His age be sacred , and his will he free. » 

The son of Peleus ceas'd : the chiefs around , 
In silence wrapt, in consternation drown'd, 
Attend the stern reply. Then Phoenix rose : 
Down his white beard a stream of sorrow flows ; 
And while the fate of suffering Greece he mourird , 
With accent weak these tender words return'd : 

« Divine Achilles ! wilt thou then retire , 
And leave our hosts in blood , our fleets on fire ? 
If wrath so dreadful fill thy ruthless mind, 
How shall thy friend , thy Phoenix , stay behind ? 
The royal Peleus , when from Phthia's coast 
He sent thee early to th' Achaian host , 
Thy youth, as then in sage debates unskill'd, 
And new to perils of the direful field : 
He bade me teach thee all the ways of war ; 
To shine in councils, and in camps to dare. 
Never, ah never, let me leave thy side ! 
!No time shall part us, and no fate divide. 
Not tho' the god , that breath'd my life , restore 
The bloom I boasted , and the port I bore , 
When Greece of old beheld my youthf il flames, 
Delightful Greece, the land of lovely dames! 



UOOK IX. l8l 

My father, faithless to my mother's arms , 
Old as he was , ador'd a stranger's charms , 
I try'd what youth could do , at her desire, 
To win the damsel, and prevent my sire. 
My sire with curses loads my hated head , 
And cries : Ye furies ! barren be his bed ! 
Infernal Jove , the vengeful fiends below, 
And ruthless Proserpine , conflrm'd his vow. 
Despair and grief distract my labouring mind ; 
Gods! what a crime my impious heart design'd! 
1 thought, but some kind god that thought supprest, 
To plunge the poniard in my father's breast : 
Then meditate my flight : my friends in vain 
With prayers intreat me , end with force detain; 
On fat of rams , black bulls , and brawny swine , 
They daily feast , with draughts of fragrant wine : 
Strong guards they plac'd, and watch'd nine nights entire; 
The roofs and porches flam'd with constant fire. 
The tenth , I forc'd the gatas , unseen of all , 
And favour'd hy the night , o'erleap'd the wall. 
My travels thence thro' spacious Greece extend, 
Tu Phthia's court at last ray labours end. 
Your sire receiv'd me, as his son caress'd, 
With girts enrich'd, and with possessions bless'd. 
The strong Dolopians Ihenceforth own'd my reign, 
And all the coa^t that runs along the main. 
By love to thee his bounties I repaid , 
And early w T isdom to thy soul convey'd; 
Great as thou art , my lessons made thee brave, 
A child I took thee , but a hero gave. 
Thy infant breast a like affection show'd ; 
Still in my arms , an ever-pleasing load , 
Or at my knee, by Phoenix would'st thou stand : 
No food was grateful but from Phoenix' hand. 
I pass my watchings o'er thy helpless years, 
The tender labours, the compliant cares: 
The gods, I thought, revers'd their hard decree, 
And Phoenix felt a father's joys in thee : 
Thy growing virtues justify'd ray cares, 
And promis'd comfort to my silver hairs. 
Now be thy rage , thy fatal rage , resign'd : 
A cruel heart ill suits a mauty mind : 



l82 HOMER's ILIAD. 

The gods , the only great , and only wise , 

Are mov'd by offerings , vows , and sacrifice ; 

Offending man their high compassion wins, 

And daily prayers atone for daiiy sins. 

Prayers are Jove's daughters, of celestial race, 

Lame are their feet , and wrinkled is their face ; 

With humble mien, and with dejected eyes, 

Constant they folloAV, where injustice flies : 

Injustice, swift, erect, and unconfin'd , 

Sweeps the wide earth, and tramples o'er mankind ; 

While Prayers , to heal herw T rongs, move slow behind, 

Who hears these daughters of almighty Jove , 

For him they mediate to the throne above : 

W T hen man rejects the humble suit they make , 

The sire revenges for the daughter's sake; 

From Jove commission'd , fierce injustice then 

Descends to punish unrelenting men. 

Oh! let not headlong passion bear the sway ; 

These reconciling goddesses obey : 

Due honours to the seed of Jove belong; 

Due honours calm the fierce, and bend the strong. 

Were these not paid thee by the terms we bring, 

Were rage still harbour'd in the haughty king , 

Nor Greece , nor all her fortunes should engage 

Thy friend to plead against so just a rage. 

But since what honour asks , the geueral sends , 

And sends by those whom most thy heart commends ; 

The best and noblest of the Grecian train ; 

Permit not these to sue , and sue in vain ! 

Let me , my son , an ancient fact unfold , 

A great example drawn fiom times of old ; 

Hear w hat our fathers were , and what their praise , 

Who conquer'd their revenge in former days. 

« Where Calydon on rocky mountains stands , 
Once fought th'iEtoliaii and Curetian bands ; 
To guard it those , to conquer these advance ; 
And mutual deaths were dealt with mutual chance. 
The silver Cynthia bade contention rise, 
In vengeance of neglected sacrifice ; 
On OEneus' field she sent a monstrous boar, 
That lev el I'd. harvests , and whole forests tore : 



BOOK IX. l8: 

This beast, when many a chief his tusks had slain , 
Great Meleager stretch'd along the plain. 
Then, for his spoils , a new debate arose , 
The neighbour nations thence commencing foes. 
Strong as they were , the bold Curetes faifd , 
While Meleager's thundering arm prevail'd : 
Till rage at length infiam'd his lofty breast ; 
For rage invades the wisest and the best. 

« Curs'd by Althaea , to his wrath he yields . 
And in his wife's embrace forgets the fields. 
She from Marpessa sprung , divinely fair, 
And matchless Idas , more than man in war ; 
The god of day ador'd the mother's charms ? 
Against the god the father bent his arms ; 
Th'afflicted pair, their sorrows to proclaim , 
From Cleopatra chang'd his daughter's name , 
And cali'd Alcyone •, a name to show 
The father's grief, the mourning mother's woe. 
To her the chief retir'd from stern debate , 
But found no peace from fierce Althaea's hate : 
Althaea's hate th' unhappy warrior drew, 
Whose luckless hand his royal uncle slew ; 
She beat the ground, and cali'd the powers beneath, 
On her own son to wreak her brother's death : 
Hell heard her curves from the realms profound , 
And the red fiends that walk the nightly round. 
In vain iEtolia her deliverer waits, 
War shakes her wails , and thunders at her gates. 
She sent ambassadors , a chosen band . 
Priests of the gods, and elders of the land; 
Besought the chief to save the sinking state : 
Their pravers were urgent, and their proffers great : 
Full fifty acres of the richest ground , 
Half pasture green, and half with vineyards crown'd. 
His suppliant father, aged QEneus, came; 
His sisters follow'd ; even the vengeful dame, 
Althaea sues; his friends before him fall, 
He stands relentless , and rejects them all : 
Meanwhile the victor's shouts ascend the skies, 
The walls are scal'd , the rolling Haines arise; 
At length his wife, a form divine, appears, 
With piercing cries, and suppLcotin 6 tears: 



184 homer's ILIAD. 

She paints the horrors of a conquer'd town , 
The heroes slain , the palaces o'erthrown , 
The matrons ravish'd , the whole race enslav'd : 
The warrior heard , he vanquish'd, and he sav'd. 
Th' iEtolians , long disdain'd , now took their turn , 
And left the chief their hroken faith to mourn. 
Learn hence , betimes, to curb pernicious ire , 
Nor stay still yonder fleets ascend in fire : 
Accept the presents , draw thy conquering sword ; 
And be amongst our guardian gods ador'd. » 

Thus he , the stern Achilles thus reply'd : 
« My second father, and my reverend guide : 
Thy friend, believe me, no such gifts demands, 
And asks no honours from a mortal's hands : 
Jove honours me, and favours my designs; 
His pleasure guides me , and his vail confines : 
And here I stay, if such his high behest , 
While life's warm spirit beats within my breast. 
Yet hear one word , and lodge it in thy heart, 
No more molest me on Atrides' part: 
Is it for him these tears are taught to flow ? 
For him these sorrows \ for my mortal foe? 
A generous friendship no cold medium knows, 
Burns with one love , with one resentment glows ; 
One should our interests , and our passions be ; 
My friend must hate the man that injures me. 
Do this, my Phoenix, 'tis a generous part, 
And share my realms, my honours, and my heart. 
Let these return : our voyage , or our stay, 
Rest undetermin'd till the dawning day. » 

He ceas'd : then order'd for the sage's bed 
A warmer couch with numerous carpets spread. 
With that, stern Ajax his long silence broke, 
And thus , impatient, to Urysses spoke : 

« Hence let us go — why waste we time in vain % 
See what effect our low submissions gain ! 
Lik'd or not lik'd, his words we must relate , 
The Greeks expect them , and our heroes wait. 
Proud as he is , that iron-heart retains 
Its subbcrn purpose, and his friends disdains. 
Stern , and impitying ! if a brother bleed, 
On just atonement, we remit the deed ; 



BOOK IX. 
A sire the slaughter of his son forgives, 
The price of blood discharg'd , the murderer lives : 
The haughtiest hearts at length their rage resign, 
And gifts can conquer every soul but thine. 
The gods that unrelenting breast have steePd, 
And curs' d. thee with a mind that cannot yield. 
One woman-slave was ravish'd from thy arms*, 
Lo, seven are offer' d , and of equal charms. 
Then hear, Achilles ! be of better mind ; 
Revere thy roof, and to thy guests be kind : 
And know the men , of all the Grecian host , 
Who honour worth, and prize thy valour most. » 

— « O soui of battles , and thy people's guide ! 
(To Ajax thus the first of Greeks reply'd,) 
Well hast thou spoke ; but at the tyrant's name , 
My rage rekindles , and my soul's on flame : 
Tis just resentment, and becomes the brave , 
Disgrac'd, dishonour'd , like the vilest slave ! 
Return then , heroes! and our answer bear, 
The glorious combat is no more mj care : 
Not till , amidst yon sinking navy slain , 
The blood of Greeks shall die the sable main; 
JVot till the flames, by Hector's fury thrown, 
Consume your vessels , and approach my own ; 
Just there th' impetuous homicide shall stand, 
There cease his battle , and there feel our hand. » 

This said, each prince a double goblet crown'd, 
And cast a large libation on the ground; 
Then to their vessels , thro' the gloomy shades ? 
The chiefs return; divine Ulysses leads. 
Meantime x\chilles' slaves prepar'd a bed , 
With fleeces, carpets , and soft linen spread : 
There , till the sacred morn restor'd the day, 
In slumber sweet the reverend Phoenix lay. 
But in his inner tent , and ampler space , 
Achilles slept ; and in his warm embrace 
Fair Diomede of the Lesbian race. 
Last , for Patroclus was the couch prepar'd , 
Who.* nightly joys the beauteous Iphis shar'd : 
Achilles to bis friend co<isign'd her charms, 
When Scyros fell be Tore his conquering arms. 



lS6 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

And now th' elected chiefs , whom Greece had sent , 
Pass'd thro' the hosts , and reach'd the royal tent. 
Then rising ail , with gohlets in their hands, 
The peers and leaders of th' Achaian hands 
HaiPd their return. Atrides first begun : 

« Say, what success l . divine Laertes' son! 
Achilles' high resolves declare to ail ; 
Returns the chief, or must our navy fall ? » 

— « Great king of nations! (Ilhacus reply'd,) 
Fix'd is his wrath, unconquer'd is his pride; 
He slights thy friendship , thy proposals scorns , 
And , thus impior'd , with fiercer fury burns. 
To save our army, and our fleets to free , 
Is not his care , but left to Greece and thee. 
Your eyes shall view, when morning paints the sky, 
Beneath his oars the whitening billows fly ; 
Us too he bids our oars and sails employ, 
Nor hope the fall of heaven-protected Troy: 
For Jove o'ershades her with his arm divine, 
Inspires her war, and bids her glory shine. 
Such was his word : what farther he declared, 
These sacred heralds and great Ajax heard. 
But Phoenix in his tent the chief retains , 
Safe to transport him to his native plains 
When morning dawns : if other he decree , 
His age is sacred , and his choice is free, » 

Ulysses ceas'd : the great Achaian host , 
With sorrow seiz'd, in consternation lost , 
Attend the stern reply. Tydides broke 
The general silence, and undaunted spoke. 
<i Why should we gifts to proud Achilles send ? 
Or strive with prayers his haughty soul to bend \ 
His country's woes he glories to deride, 
And prayers will burst that swelling heart with pride, 
Be the fierce impulse of his rage obey'd ; 
Our battles let him , or desert or aid ; 
Then let him arm when Jove or he think fit ; 
That, to his madness, or to heaven commit : 
What for ourselves we can , is always curs : 
This night, let due repast refresh our powers; 
For strength consists in spirits and in blood, 
And those are ow'd to generous wine and food : 



BOOK IX. 
But when the rosy messenger of day 
Strikes the blue mountains with her golden ray, 
Rang'd at the ships, let all our squadrons shine, 
In flaming arms . a long extended line : 
In the dread front let great Atrides stand', 
The first in danger , as in high command. » 
Shouts of acclaim the listening heroes raise y 
Then each to heaven the due libations pays ; 
Till sleep , descending o'er the tents , bestows 
The gratefuh blessings of desir'd repose. 



LOJ 



THE ARGUMENT. 

The night adventure of Diomed and Ulysses* 

Upon the refusal of Achilles to return to the army, the dis- 
tress of Agamemnon is described in the most lively manner, 
He takes no rest thai night , but passes through the camp , 
awaking the leaders, and contriving all possible methods 
for the public safety. Menelaus, Nestor, Ulysses, and Dio- 
med , are employed in raising the rest of the captains. They 
call a council of war, and determine to send scouts into the 
enemy's camp, to learn their posture, and discover their 
intentions. Diomed undertakes this hazardous enterprise » 
and makes choice of Ulysses for his companion. In their 
passage, they surprise Dolon , whom Hector had sent on a 
like design to the camp of the Grtcians. From him they are 
informed of the situation of the Trojan and aujariary forces , 
and particularly of Rhesus, and the Thraeians who were 
lately arrived. They pass on with success •, kill Rhesus , with 
several of his officers , and seize the famous horses of that 
prince, with which they return in triumph to the camp. 
The same night continues; the scene lies in the two camps. 



THE 

ILIAD. 

BOOK X. 



All night the chiefs hefore their vessels lay, 
And lost in sleep the labours of the day : 
All hut the king : with various thoughts opprest , 
His country's cares lay rolling in his breast 
As when, by lightnings, Jove's aethereal power 
Foretells the rattliug hail , or weighty shower, 
Or sends soft snows to whiten all the shore, 
Or bids the brazen throat of war to roar •, 
By fits one flash succeeds as one expires , 
And heaven flames thick with momentary fires : 
So bursting frequent from Atrides' breast, 
Sighs following sighs his inward fears confest. 
INow o'er the field , dejected , he surveys 
From thousand Trojan fires the mounting, blaze •, 
Hears in the passing wind their music blow , 
And marks distinct the voices of the foe. 
Now looking backwards to the fleet and coast , 
Anxious he sorrows for th' endanger'd host. 
He rends his hairs in sacrifice to Jove , 
x\nd sues to him that ever lives above : 
Inly he groans ; while glory and despair 
Divide his heart , and wage a doubtful war. 

A thousand cares his labouring breast revolves ; 
To seek sage Nestor now the chief resolves , 
With him , in wholesome counsels to debate 
What yet remains to save th' afflicted state. 
He rose , and first he cast his mantle round , 
Next on his feet the shining sandals bound ; 
A lion's yellow spoils his back conceal'd ; 
His warlike hand a pointed javelin held. 
Meanwhile his brother, prest with equal wees , 
Alike deny'd the gifts of soft repose , 



ipo HOMER'S ILIAD. 

Laments for Greece, that in his cause before 
So much had suffer'd J and must suffer more. 
A leopard's spotted hide his shoulders spread ; 
A brazen helmet glitter'd on his head : 
Thus , with a javelin in his hand , he went 
To wake Atrides , in the royal tent. 
Already wak'd , Atrides he descry'd , 
His armour buckling at his vessel's side •, 
Joyful they met : the Spartan thus begun : 
« Why puts my brother his bright armour on ? 
Sends he some spy , amidst these silent hours , 
To try yon camp, and watch the Trojan powers? 
But say , what hero shall sustain that task ? 
Such bold exploits uncommon courage ask , 
Guideless , alone , thro' night's dark shade to go , 
And 'midst a hostile camp' explore the foe ? » 

To whom the king. « In such distress we stand, 
No vulgar counsels our affairs demand ; 
Greece to preserve , is now no easy part, 
But asks high wisdom, deep design, and art. 
For Jove averse our humble prayer denies, 
And bows his head to Hector's sacrifice. 
What eye has witness'd, or what ear belie v\l, 
In one great day , by one great arm atchiev'd , 
Such wonderous deeds as Hector's hand has done . 
And we beheld , the last revolving sun l . 
"What honours the belov'd of Jove adorn? 
Sprung from no god , and of no goddess born , 
Yet such his acts , as Greeks unborn shall tell , 
And curse the battle where their fathers fell. 

« Now speed thy hasty course along the fleet , 
There call great Ajax , and the prince of Crete ; 
Qui self to hoary Nestor will repair ; 
To keep the guards on duty , be his care ; 
For Nestor s influence best that quarter guides , 
Whose son, with Merion, o'er the watch presides, a 
To whom the Spartan : « These thy orders borne , 
Say shall I stay, or with dispatch return? » 
• — « There shalt thou stay ( the king of men reply'd ) , / 
Else may we miss to meet, without a guide , /> 

The paths so many , and the camp so wide. S 



BOOK X. lOl 

Still , with your voice , the slothful soldiers raise , 

"Urge , by their fathers' fame , their future praise. 

Forget we now our state and lofty birth ; 

Not titles here , but works , must prove our worth. 

To labour is the lot of man below ; 

And when Jove gave us life , he gave us woe. » 

This said , each parted to his several cares; 
The king to Nestor's sable ship repairs ; 
The sage protector of the Greeks he found 
Stretch'd in his bed , with all his arms around ; 
The various-colour'd scarf, the shield he rears , 
The shining heimet , and the pointed spears : 
The dreadful weapons of the warrior's rage , 
That, old in arms , disdain'd the peace of age. 
Then, leaning on his hand his watchful head , 
The hoary monarch rais'd his eyes and said : 

« What art thou , speak , that on designs unknown, 
White others sleep, thus range the catnp alone? 
Seek'st thou some friend , or nightly centineH 
Stand off, approach not, but thy purpose tell. » 

— .« O son of Neleus , ( thus the king rejoin'd ), 
Pride of the Greeks , and glory of thy kind ! 
Lo, here the wretched Agamemnon stands, 
Th' unhappy general of the Grecian bands ; 
Whom Jove decrees with daily cares to bend , 
And woes that only with his life shall end! 
Scarce can my knees these trembling limbs sustain, 
And scarce my heart support its load of pain. 
No taste of sleep these heavy eyes have known; 
Confus'd and sad , I wander thus alone , 
With fears distracted , with no fix'd design ; 
And all my people's miseries are mine. 
If ought of use thy waking thoughts suggest, 
Since cares , like mine , deprive thy soul of rest , 
Impart thy counsel , and assist thy friend ; 
Now let us jointly to the trench descend, 
At every gate the faiutiug guard excite , 
Tir'd with the toils of day and watch of night : 
Else may the sudden foe our works invade, 
So near , and favoured by the gloomy shade. i> 

To him thus Nestor : « Trust the powers above, 
Nor think proud Hector's hopes confirm'd by Jove : 



1()2 HOMERS ILIAD. 

How ill agree the views of vain mankind , 

And the wise counsels of th' eternal mind 2 . 

Audacious Hector ! if the gods ordain 

That great Achilles rise and rage again, 

What toils attend thee , and what woes remain? 

Lo , faithful Nestor thy command obeys ; 

The care is next our other chiefs to raise : 

Ulysses , Diomed , we chiefly need ; 

Meges for strength , Oileus fam'd for speed. 

Some other he dispatch'd, of nimbler feet, 

To those tall ships , remotest, of the fleet , 

Where lie great Ajax, and the king of Crete. 

To rouse the Spartan I myself decree ; 

Dear as he is to us ,~and dear to thee , 

Yet must I tax his sloth , that claims no share 

With his great brother in his martial care : 

Him it behov'd to every chief to sue , 

Preventing every ^fcrt perform'd by you ; 

For strong necessity our toils demands, 

Claims all our hearts, and urges all our hands. » 

To whom the king : « With reverence we allow 
Thy just rebukes, yet learn to spare them now ; 
My generous brother is of gentle kind, 
He seems remiss , but bears a valiant mind ; 
Thro' too much deference to our sovereign sway , 
Content to follow when we lead the way. 
But now , our ills industrious to prevent , 
Long ere the rest , he rose and sought my tent. 
The chiefs you nam'd, already, at his call, 
Prepare to meet us near the navy wail ; 
Assembling there , between the trench and gates , 
Near the night guards, our chosen council wails. » 

. — « Then none ( said Nestor ) shall his rule withstand , 
For great examples justify command. » 

With that, the venerable warrior rose ; 
The shining greaves his manly legs inclose ; 
His purple mantle golden buckles join'd , 
Warm with the softest wool , and doubly lin'd. 
Then , rushing from his tent , he snatch'd in haste 
His steely lance , that lighten' d as he past. 
The camp he travers'd thro' the sleeping crowd ? 
Stopp'd at Ulysses' tent , and call'd aloud. 



BOOK X. 1^3 

Ulysses, sudden as the voice was sent, 
Awakes , starts up , and issues from his tent. 
« What new distress, what sudden <:ause of fright, 
Thus leads you wandering in the silent night ? » 

— « O prudent chief ! ( the Pylian sage reply'd ) , 
Wise as thou art , he now thy wisdom try'd ; 
Whatever means of safety can he sought , 
Whatever counsels can inspire our thought , 
Whatever methods , or to fly or fight , 
All, all, depend on this important night ! >;> 

He heard , return'd, and took his painted shield, 
Then joinM the chiefs , and follow'd thro' the field, 
Without his tent hold Diomed they found , 
All sheath'd in arms, his brave companions round : 
Each sunk in sleep , extended on the field , 
His head reclining on his bossy shield. 
A wood of spears stood by , that, fix'd upright , 
Shot from their flashing points a quivering light. 
A hull's black hide compos'd the hero's bed; 
A splendid carpet roll'd beneath his head. 
Then , wilh his foot , old Nestor gently shakes 
The slumbering chief, and in these words awakes : 

« Rise , son of Tydeus ! to the brave and strong 
Rest seems inglorious , and the night too long. 
But sleep'st thou now ! when from yon hills the foe 
Hangs o'er the fleet , and shades our walls below : >> 

At this , soft slumber from his eyelids fled ; 
The warrior saw the hoary chief, and said : 
a Wond'rous old man ! whose soul no respite knows , 
Tho' years and honours bid thee seek repose, 
Let younger Greeks our sleeping warriors wake , 
111 fits thy age these toils to undertake. » 
— ct My friend , ( he answer'd ) generous is thy care ; 
These toils , my subjects and my sons might bear; 
Their loyal thoughts and pious loves conspire 
To ease a sovereign , and relieve a sire. 
But now the last despair surrounds our host ; 
JYo hour must pass , no moment must be lost ; 
Each single Greek, in this conclusive slrife , 
Stands on the sharpest edge of death or life. 
Yet if my years thy kind regard engage , 
Employ thy youth as I employ my age ; 



, ( -j ; j. B»HlB'S ILIAD. 

Succeed to these my cares , and rouse the rest •, 
He serves me most, who serves his country best, » 

This said , the hero o'er his shoulders flung 
A lion's spoils , that to his ancles hung ; 
Then seiz'd his pond'rous loace , and strode along. 
Meoes the bold , with Ajax fam'd for speed , 
The warrior rous'd , and to th' entrenchments lea. 
* And now the chiefs approach the nightly guar J ; 
A wakeful squadron, each in arms prepar'd : 
Th' unweary'd watch their listening leaders keep, 
And, couching close , repel invading sleep. 
So faithful dogs their fleecy charge maintain , 
With toil protected from the prowling train •, 
When the gaunt lioness, with hunger bold , 
Springs from the mountains tow'rtt the guarded fob! : 
Thro' breaking woods her rustling course they hear ; 
Loud, and more loud, the clamours strike their ear 
Of hounds and men ; they start , they gaze around , 
Watch every side, and turn to every sound : 
Thus watch'd the Grecians , cautious of surprise , 
Each voice , each motion, drew their ears and eyes ; 
Each step of passing feet increas'd th aftnght , 
And hostile Troy was ever full in sight. 
Nestor with joy the wakeful band survey d. 
And thus accosted through the gloomy shade: 
„Tis well, my sons; your nightly cares employ, 
Else must our host become the scorn of Troy 
Watch thus, and Greece shall live »- The herosa,,. 
Then o'er the trench the following chief a.ns led. 
His son, and godlike Merion march'd behind , 
For these the princes to their council join d; 
The trenches past, th' assembled kings around 
In silent state the consistory crown'd. 
A place there was yet undefil'd with gore , 
The spot where Hector stopp'd his rage before , 
When night descending, from his vengeful naud 
Repriev'd the relics of the Grecian band : 
The plain beside with mangled corps was spread , 
And all his progress mark'd by heaps ol dead : 
There sat the mournful kings : when Nelens' son 
The council opening, in these words begun : 



BOOK X. I<*5 

« Is there ( he said ) a chief so greatly braye , 
His life to hazard j and his country save I 
Lives there a mail', who singly dares to go 
To yonder camp , or seize some straggling foe 2 . 
Or , favoured by the night, approach so near. 
Their speech, their counsels , and designs, to hear? 
If to besiege our navies they prepare, 
Or Troy once more must be the seat of war? 
This could he learn , and to our peers recite , 
And pass unharm'd the dangers of the nigkt ; 
What fame were his thro' all succeeding days, 
While Phcebus shines , or men have tongues to praise \ 
What gifts his grateful country would bestow \ 
What must not Greece to her deliverer owe I 
A sable ewe each leader should provide , 
With each a sable lambkin by her side ; 
At every rite his share should be increas'd , 
And his the foremost honours of the feast. 

Fear held them mute : alone, untaught to fear, 
Tydides spoke : « The man you seek , is here : 
Thro' jon black camps to bend my dangerous v. a .-. 
Some god within commands , and I obey. 
But let some other chosen warrior join, 
To raise my hopes , and second my design. 
By mutual confidence , and mutual aid , 
Great deeds are done , and great discoveries made . 
The wise new prudence from the wise acquire. 
And one brave hero fans another's fire. » 
Contending leaders at the word arose : 
Each generous breast with emulation glows : 
So brave a task each Ajax strove to share , 
Bold Merion strove , and Nestor's valiant heir ; 
The Spartan wish'd the second place to gain , 
And great Ulysses wish'd , nor wish'd in vain. 
Then thus the king of men the contest ends : 
« Thou first of warriors, and thou best of friends, 
Undaunted Diomed ! what chief to join 
In this great enterprize , is only thine. 
Just be thy choice , without affection made , 
To birth , or office , no respect be paid ; 
Let worth determine here. » The monarch spake , 
And inly trembled for his brother's sake. 



3C)6 HOMER'S ILIAD, 

Then thus the godlike Dionied lvjoin'd : 
« My choice declares the impulse of my mind. 
How can I doubt , while great Ulysses stands 
To lend his counsels , and assist our hands ? 
A chief, whose safety is Minerva's care ; 
So fam'd , so dreadful , in the works of war : 
Blest in his conduct , I no aid require , 
Wisdom like his might pass thro' flames of fire. » 
^-« It fits ihee not , before these chiefs of fame , 
( Reply'd the sage , ) to praise me or to blame ; 
Praise from a friend , or censure from a foe , 
Are lost on hearers that our merits know. 
But let us haste — Night rolls the hours away , 
The reddening orient shews the coming day , 
The stars shine fainter on th' aetherial plains , 
And of night's empire but a third remains. » 

Thus having spoke , with generous ardour prcst , 
In arms terrific their huge limbs they drest. 
A two-edg'd faulchion Thrasymed the brave, 
And ample buckler , to Tydides gave : 
Then in a leathern helm he cas'd his head , 
Short of its crest , and with no plume o'erspread ; 
Such as by youths unus'd to arms are worn ; 
No spoils enrich it, and no studs adorn. 
Next him Ulysses took a shining sword , 
A bow and quiver , with bright arrows stor'd : 
A well-prov'd casque with leather braces bound , 
Thy gift , Meriones , his temples crown'd ; 
Soft wool within ; without , in order spread , 
A boar's white teeth grinn'd horrid o'er his head. 
This from Amyntor , rich Ormenus' son , 
Autolychus by fraudful rapine won , 
And gave Amphydamas ; from him the prize 
Molus receiv'd, the pledge of social ties ; 
The helmet next by Merion was possess'd , 
And now Ulysses' thoughtful temples press'd. 
Thus sheath'd in arms , the council they forsake , 
And dark thro' paths oblique their progress take. 
Just then , in sign , she favour'd their intent , 
A long- wing' d heron great Minerva sent : 
This , tho' surrounding shades obscur'd their view , 
By the shrill clang and, whistling wings , they knew 



BOOK X* 197 

As from the right she soar'd , Ulysses pray'd , 
Hail'd the glad omen , and address'd the maid : 

«. O daughter of that god , whose arm can wield 
Th' avenging holt , and shake' the dreadful shield 1 
O thou ! for ever present in my way , 
Who , all my motions , all my toils survey ! 
Safe may we pass beneath the gloomy shade , 
Safe hy thy succour to our ships convey 'd *, 
And let some deed this signal night adorn , 
To claim the tears of Trojans yet unborn. » 
Then godlike Diomed prefer'd his prayer : 
« Daughter of Jove , unconquer'd Pallas ! hear. 
Great queen of arms , whose favour Tydeus won > 
As thou defend'st the sire , defend the son. 
When on iEsopus' banks the banded powers 
Of Greece he left, and sought the Theban towers , 
Peace was his charge ; receiv'd with peaceful show , 
He went a legate , but returned a foe ; 
Then help'd by thee , and cover'd by thy shield. 
He fought with numbers, and made numbers yield. 
So now be present, oh celestial maid ! 
So still continue to the race thine aid ! 
A youthful steer shall fall beneath the stroke . 

Untam'd , unconscious of the galling yoke , 

W T ith ample forehead , and with spreading horns , 
Vv hose taper tops refulgent gold adorns. » 

The heroes pray'd ; and Pallas, from the skies , 
Accords thair vow, succeeds their enterprize. 
Now, like tw§ lions panting for the prey, 
With dreadful thoughts they trace the dreary way , 

Thro' the black horrors of th' ensanguind plain, 

Thro' dust, thro' blood, o'er arms , and hills of slain. 
Nor less hold Hector , and the sons of Troy , 

On high designs the wakeful hours employ ; 

Th' assembled peers their lofty chief iuclos'd ; 

Who thus the counsels of his breast propos'd : 

« What glorious man, for high attempts prepar'd, 

Dares greatly venture for a rich reward l . 

Of yonder fleet a bold discovery make, 

W hat watch they keep, and what resolves they take? 

If now suhdu'd they meditate their flight, 

And spent with toil neglect the watch of night? 



1 C/8 II OMER'S ILIAD. 

His he the chariot that shall please him most , 
Of all the plunder of the vanquished host ; 
His the fair steeds that all the rest excell , 
And his the glory to have served so well. » 

A youth there was among the tribes of Troy , 
Dolon his name, Eumedes' only hoy; 
Five girls beside the reverend herald told , 
Rich was the son in brass , and rich in gold •, 
!Not blest by nature with the charms of face , 
But swift of foot, and malchless in the race. 
« Hector ( he said) , my courage bids me meet 
This high achievement, and explore the fleet : 
But first exalt thy sceptre to the skies , 
And swear to grant me the demanded prize : 
Th' immortal coursers, and the glittering car, 
That bear Pelides thro' the ranks of war. 
Encouvag'd thus , no idle scout I go , 
Fulfil thy wish , their whole intention know ; 
Ev'n to the royal tent pursue my way , 
And all their counsels, all their aims betray. » 

The chief then heav'd the golden sceptre high , 
Attesting thus the monarch of the sky : 
« Be witness thou ! immortal Lord of all ! 
Whose thunder shakes the dark aerial hail ! 
By none but Dolon shall this prize be born , 
And him alone th' immortal steeds adorn. » 

Thus Hector swore : the gods were cali'd in vain : 
But the rash youth prepares to scour the plain*} 
Across his back the bended bow he flung, • 
A wolf's grey hide around his shoulders hung , 
A ferret's downy fur his helmet lin'd, 
And in his hand a pointed javelin shin'd. 
Then, never to return, he sought the shore, 
And trod the path his feet must tread no more. 
Scarce had he pass'd the steeds and Trojan throng , 
Still bending forward as he cours'd along , 
When , on the hollow way , th' approaching tread 
Ulysses mark'd , and thus to Diomed : 

« O friend ! I hear some step of hostile feet , 
Moving this way , or hastening to the fleet ; 
Some spy , perhaps , to lurk beside the main, 
Or nightly piliaaer that strips the slain. 



BOOK X. 199 

iFel let him pass, and win a little space ; 
Then rush behind him , and prevent his pace. 
But if too swift of foot he flies before, 
Confine his course along the fleet and shore 5 
Betwixt the camp and him our spears employ, 
And intercept his hop'd return to Troy. » 

With that 9 they stepp'd aside , and stoOp'd their head 
As Dolon pass'd , behind a heap of dead : 
Along the path the spy unwary flew; 
Kofi, at just distance , Loth the chiefs pursue. 
So distant they , and such the space between , 
As when two teams of mules divide the green, 
To whom the hind like shares of land allows, 
When now few furrows part th' approaching ploughs. 
Now Dolon listening , heard them as they past ; 
Hector, he thought, had sent, and cheek 7 d his haste, 
Till scarce at distance of a javelin's throw. 
Ko voice succeeding, he perceived the foe. 
As when two skilful hounds the leveret wind , 
Or chase thro' woods obscure the trembling hind ; 
Now lost, now seen, they intercept his way. 
And from the herd still turn the flying prey : 
So fast, and with such fears, the Trojan flew ; 
So close, so constant , the bold Greeks pursue. 
Vow almost on the fleet the dastard falls, 
And mingles with the guards that watch the walls : 
When brave Tydides stopp'd ; a generous thought , 
Tnspir'd by Pallas , in his bosom wrought , 
Lest on the foe some forward Greek advance, 
And snatch the glory from his lifted lance. 
Then thus aloud : « Whoe'er thou art, remain; 
This javelin ehe shall fix thee to the plain. » 
He said, and high m air the weapon cast , 
\\ hich wilful i-i r'd , and o'er his shoulder past ; 
Then tis'd in earth. Against the trembling wood 
The wretch stood propp'd , and quiver'd. as he stood : 
A sudden palsy seiz'd his turning head , 
His loose teeth chatter'd, and his colour fled : 
The panting warriors seize him as he stands, 
And with unmanly tears his life demands. 

« O spare my youth , and for the breath I owe , 
Large gifts of price my father shall bestow, 



f ^0Q HOMER 7 S ILIAD. 

Vast heaps of brass shall in your ships he fold, 
And steel well-temper'd, and refulgent gold. » 

To whom Ulysses made this wise reply : 
*c Whoe'er thou art , he bold , nor fear to die. 
What moves thee , say , when sleep has c^os'd the sighK 
To roam the silent fi elds in dead of nigh" l . 
Cam's! thou the secrets of our camp to find, 
By Hector prompted, or thy daring mind l . 
Or art some wretch by hopes of plunder led , 
Thro' heaps of carnage , to despoil the dead ? » 

Then thus pale Dolon wilh a fearful look^ 
Still , as he spoke , his limbs with horror shook : 
ft Hither I came, by Hector's words deceiv'd ; 
Much did he promise , rashly I belie v'd ; 
No less a bribe than great Achilles' car. 
And those swift steeds that sweep the ranks of war, 
Urg'd me, unwilling, this attempt to make, 
To learn what counsels, what resolves you take ; 
If, now subdued, you fix your hopes on flight , 
And, tir'd with toiis, neglect the watch of night? » 

— « Bold was thy aim , and glorious was the prize, 
( Ulysses , with a scornful smile replies ; ) 
Far other rulers those proud steeds demand , 
And scorn the guidance of a vulgar hand; 
F.v'n great Achilles scarce their rage can tame , 
Achilles, sprung from an immortal dame. 
But say, be faithful, and the truth recite ! 
Where hes encamp' d the Trojan chief to-night? 
Where stand his coursers l . In what quarter sleep 
Their other princes l . tell what watch they keep? 
Say, since their conquest, what their counsels are? J 

Or here to combat , from their city far , \ 

Or back to Ilion's walls transfer the war? » I 

Ulysses thus , and thus Eumedes' son : 
« What Dolon knows, his faithful tongue shall own. 
Hector , the peers assembling in his tent , 
A council holds at Ilus' monument. 
No certain guards the nightly watch partake ; 
W 7 here'er yon fires ascend, the Trojans wake ; 
Anxious for Troy , the guard the natives keep ; 
Safe in their cares , th' auxiliar forces sleep , 



BOOK X. 201 

Whose wives and infants , from the danger far , 
Discbarge their souls of half the fears of war. >.> 

— « Then sleep those aids among the Trojan train , 
( Inquir'd the chief, ) or scatter'd o'er the plain \ » 

To whom the spy : « Their powers they thus dispose : 
The Paeous , dreadful with their bended bows , 
The Carians, Caucons , the Pelasgian host, 
And Leleges . encamp along the coast ; 
Not. distant far , lie higher on the laud , 
The Lycian , Mysian, and Mceonian band •, 
And Phryoia's horse by Thymbra's ancient wail •, 
The Thracians utmost, and apart from all. 
These Troy but lately to her succour won, 
Led on by Rhesus , great Eioneus' son : 
I saw his coursers in proud triumph go , 
Swift as the wind , and white as winter snow : 
Rich silver plates his shining car unfold ; 
His solid arms , refulgent , flame with gold *, 
No mortal shoulders suit the glorious load , 
Celestial Panoply, to grace a god! 
Let me , unhappy, to your fleet be born, 
Or leave me here , a captive's fate to mourn , 
In cruel chains, till your return reveal 
The truth or falsehood of the news I tell. » 

To this Tydides , with a gloomy frown : 
« Think not to live , tho' all the truth be shown : 
Shall we dismiss thee , in some future sirife 
To risk more bravely thy now forfeit life l . 
Or thai again our camps thou inav'st explore? 
r\o — ouce a traitor, thou betray'st no more, m 

Sternly he spoke, and as the wretch prepar'd 
With humble blandishment to stroke his beard y 
Like lightning swift the wrathful faulchion flew, 
Divides the neck, aud cuts the nerves in two; 
One instant snatch'd his trembling soul to hell ; 
The head , yet speaking , mutter'd as it fell. 
The furry helmet from hi- brow they tear, 
The wolfs grey hide , th' unbended bow and spear; 
These great Ulysses lifting to the skies, 
To favouring Pallas dedicates the prize. 

« Great queen of arms ! receive this hostile spoil , 
And let the Thracian steeds reward our toil : 



20ii HOMER'S ILIAD. 

Thee first of all the heavenly host we praise : 

Oh speed our labours , and direct our ways-! » 

This said, the spoils , with dropping sore defac'J , 

High on a spreading tamarisk he plac'd : 

Then heap'd with reeds and gather'd houghs the plain. 

To guide their footsteps to the place again. 

Thro' the still night they cross the devious fields. 
Slippery with blood , o'er arms and heaps of shields , 
Arriving where the Thracian squadrons lay, 
And eas'd in sleep the labours of tfae day. 
Ka:ig'd in three lines they view the prostrate hand ; 
The horses yok'd beside each warrior stand ; 
Their arms in order on the ground reclin'd , 
Thro' the brown shade the fulgid weapons shin'd : 
Amidst lay Rhesus , stretch'd in sleep profound , 
And the white steeds behind his chariot bound. 
The welcome sight Ulysses first descries , 
And points to Biomed the tempting prize. 
« The man, the coursers, and the car, behold! 
Describ'd by Dolon , with the arms of gold. 
Now, brave Tydides! now thy coinage try, 
Approach the chariot, and the steeds untie; 
Or if thy soul aspire to fiercer deeds, 
Urge thou the slaughter, while I seize the steeds. » 

Pallas, this said, hei hero's bosom warms, 
Breaih'd in his heart, and strung his nervous arms ; 
Where'er he pass'd , a purple stream pursu'd ; 
His thirsty faulchion, fat with hostile blood, 
Bath'd all his footsteps, dy'd the fields with gore, 
And a low groan reuiurmurVl thro' the shore. 
So the grim lion , from his nightly den , 
O'erleaps the fences , and invades the pen; 
On sheep or goats , resistless in his way, 
He fails , and foaming rends the guardless prey. 
IN'or stopp'd the fury of his vengeful hand , 
Till twelve lay breathless of the Thraciaa band. 
Ulysses following , as his partner slew, 
JBaek by the foot each slaughter' J warrior drew ; 
The milk-white coursers siudious to convey 
Safe to the ships, he wise!y clear'd the way; 
Lest the fierce steeds , not yet to battles bred, 
Should start, and tremble at the heaps of dead. 



BOOK x. j&oa 

Now twelve dispatch'd , the monarch last they found ; 
Tydides 1 faulchion fix'd him to the ground. 
Just then a deaihful dream Minerva sent, 
A warlike form appear'd before his tent, 
Whose visionary steel his bosom tore : 
So dreanrd the monarch, and awak'd no more. 

Ui :ses now the snowy steeds detains, 
And leads them, fasten'd by the silver reins; 
These , with his bow unbent, he lash'd along; 
The scourge forgot , on Pihesus' chariot hung. 
Then gave his friend the signal to retire; 
But him, new dangers, new atchievements fire : 
Doubtful he stood, or with his reeking blade 
To send more heroes to th' infernal shade , 
Drag off the car where Rhesus' armour lay, 
Or heave with manly force , and lift away. 
"While unresolv'd the son of T}'deus stands , 
Pallas appears , and thus her chief commands : 

cc Enough, my son, from far I her slaughter cease ? 
P^egard thy safety, and depart in peace; 
Haste to the ships, the gotten spoils enjoy , 
Nof tempt too far the hostile gods of Troy. » 

The voice divine confessed the martial maid ; 
In haste he mounted , and her word obev'd ; 
The coursers l\\ before ITysses' bow , 
Swift as the wind, and white as winter snow. 

Not unobserv'd they pass'd : the god of light 
Had watch'd his Troy, and mark'd Minerva's flight 
Saw Tydeus' son with heavenly succour blest , 
And vengeful anger fiil'd his sacred breast. 
Swift to the Trojan camp descends the power, 
And wakes Hippocoon in the morning hour, 
On Rhesus' side accustom'd to attend, 
A faithful kinsman , and instructive friend, 
lie rose , and saw the held deform'd with blood , 
An em, ty space where late the coursers stood, 
The yet-warm Thracians panting on the coast ; 
For each he wept , but for his Rhesus most. 
Now while on Rhesus' name he calls in vain , 
The gathering tumult spreads o'er all the plain ; 
On heaps the Trojans ru>h , with wiid affright , 
And wondering view the slaughters of the night. 



2<>4 HOMER^ ILIAD. 

Meanwhile the chiefs , arriving at the shade 
Where late the spoils of Hector's spy were laid, 
Ulysses stopp'd : to him Tydides bore 
The trophy, dropping yet with Dolon's gore : 
Then mounts again ; again their nimble feet 
The coursers ply, and thunder tow'rds the fleet. 

Old JNestor first perceiv'd th' approaching sound 9 
Bespeaking thus the Grecian peers around: 
« Methinks the noise of trampling steeds I hear, 
Thickening this way, and gathering on my ear; 
Perhaps some horses of the Trojan breed, 
So may, ye gods ! my pious hopes succeed , 
The great Tydides and Ulysses bear, 
Keturn'd triumphant with this prize of war. 
Yet much I fear, oh may that fear be vain ! 
The chiefs outuumber'd by the Trojan train : 
Perhaps , ev'n now pursu'd, they seek the shore ; 
Or, oh ! perhaps those heroes are no more. » 

Scarce had he spoke , when , lo ! the chiefs appear, 
And spring to earth ; the Greeks dismiss their fear : 
"With words of friendship and extended hands 
They greet the kings ; and Nestor first demands : 

« Say thou , whose praises all our host proclaim , 
Thou living glory of the Grecian name ! 
Say , whence these coursers l . by what chance bestowed ? 
The spoil of foes , or present of a god l . 
IVot those fair steeds so radiant and so gay , 
That draw the burning chariot of the day. 
Old as I am , to age I scorn to yield , 
And daily mingle in the martial field ; 
But sure till now no coursers struck my sight 
Like these f conspicuous thro' the ranks of fight. , 
Some god , I deem , conferr'd the glorious prize , 
Blest as ye are , and favourites of the skies ; 
The care of him who bids the thunder roar, 
And * her, whose fury bathes the world with gore. » 

— « Father ! not so , (sage Ithacus rejoin'd) 
The gifts of heaven are of a nobler kind. 
Of Thracian lineage are the steeds ye view, 
Whose hostile king the brave Tydides slew ; 

* JMinerva. 



BOOK x. 2o:> 

Sleeping be dy'd , with all his guards around, 
And twelve beside lay gasping on the ground. 
These other spoils from conquer'd Dolon came, 
A wretch , whose swiftness was his only fame, 
By Hector sent our forces to explore , 
He now lies headless on the sandy shore. » 

Then o'er the trench the bounding coursers flew ) 
The joyful Greeks with loud acclaim pursue. 
Strait to Tydides' hi^h pavilion born , 
The matchless steeds his ample stall adorn: 
The neighing coursers their new fellows greet , 
And their full racks are heap'd wdth generous wheat. 
But Dolon's armour, to his ships convey'd , f 

High on the painted stern I lysses laid , £ 

A trophy destin'd to the blue-ey'd maid. 

Now from nocturnal sweat, and sanguine stain , 
They cleanse their bodies in the neighbouring main \ 
Then in the polish'd bath , refresh'd from toil , 
Tbeir joints they supple with dissolving oil ; 
In due repast indulge the genial hour, 
And first to Pallas the libation pour: 
They sit, rejoicing in her aid divine, 
And the crown'd goblet foams with floods of >vine. 



THE ARGUMENT. 

The third battle , and the acts of Agamemnon* 

Agamemnon, Laving armed himself, leads the Grecians to 
battle : Hector prepares the Trojans to receive them ; while 
Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, give the signals of war. Aga- 
Kiemnon bears all before him ; and Hector is commanded by 
Jupiter , who sends Iris for that purpose , to decline the 
engagement until the king shall be wounded and retire from 
the field. lie then makes a great slaughter of the enemy; 
Ulysses and Diomed put a stop to him for a time \ but the 
latter being wounded by Paris, is obliged to desert his com- 
panion, who is encompassed by the. Trojans, wounded , and 
in the utmost danger, until Menelaus and Ajax rescue him. 
Hector comes against Ajax, but that hero alone opposes 
multitudes, "and rallies the Greeks. In the meantime Mac- 
haon, in the other wing of the army, is pierced wi.ii an 
arrow by Paris, and carried from the fight in Nestor's cha- 
riot. Achilles, who overlooked the action from his ship, 
sends Fatroclus to inquire which of the Greeks was wound- 
ed in that manner? Nestor entertains him in his tentwith 
an account of the accidents of the day, and a long recital of 
toane former wars which he remembered , tit nding to put Fa- 
troclus upon persuading Achilles to fight for his countrymen, 
or at least to permit him to do it, clad in Achilles' arm on- . 
Tatroclus in his return meets Eurypilus also wounded, and 
■assists him in that distress. 

This book opens with the eight and twentieth day of the 
poem*, aud the same day, with its various actions and ad- 
ven;ures , is extended through the twelfth , thirteenth , 
fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, and part or 
the eighteenth books. The scene lies in the fiVld near the 
monument of II us. 



THE 

ILIA D. 

BOOK XI. 



f IT 

J. he saffron Morn , with early blushes spread \ 
Now rose refulgent from Tithonus' bed ; 
With new-born da}- to gladden mortal sight , 
And gild the courts of heaven with sacred light. 
When baleful Eris, sent by Jove's command , 
The torch of discord blazing in her hand, 
Thro' the red skies her bloody sign extends , 
And , wrapt in tempests , o'er the fleets descends. 
High on Ulysses' bark her horrid stand 
She took, and thunderVl thro' the seas and land 
Vv'ii Ajax and Achilles heard the sound , 
Whose ships remote the guarded navy bound. 

; hence the black fury thro' the Grecian throng 
With horror sounds the loud Orthian song : 
The navy shakes, and at the dire alarms 
Each bosom bo Is , each warrior starts to arms. 
No more they sigh , inglorious to return, 
But breathe revenge, and for the combat burn. 

The king of men his hardy host inspires 
With loud command, with great example fires; 
Himself first rose , himself before the rest 
His mighty limbs in radiant armour drest. 
And first be cas'd his manty leg-s around 
In shining greaves , with silver buckles bound : 
The beaming cuirass next adorn'd his breast, 
The same which once king Cinyras possest : 
The fame of Greece and her assembled host 
Had reach'd that monarch on the Cyprian coast ; 
'Twas tbt n , the friendship of the chief to gain 
This glorious gift he sent , nor sent in vain. 
Ten rows of ay.ure steel the work infold , 
Twice ten of tin , and twelve of ductile gold 



£08 HOMETv's ILIAD. 

Three glittering dragons to the gorget rise , 
Whose imiiated scales against the skies 
Reflected various light , and arching bow'd , 
Like colour'd rainbows o'er a showery cloud : 
Jove's wond'rous how , of three celestial dies , 
Plac'd as a sign to man amid the skies. 
A radiant baldric , o'er his shoulder ty'd, 
Sustain'd the sw r ord that glitter'd at his side : 
Gold was the hilt , a silver sheath encas'd 
The shining blade , and golden hangers grac'd. 
His buckler's mighty orb was next display'd, 
That round the warrior cast a dreadful shade ; 
Ten zones of brass its ample brim surround , 
And twice ten bosses the bright convex crown'd : 
Tremendous Gorgon frown'd upon its field , 
And circling terrors fill'd th' expressive shield : 
Within its concave hung a silver thong , 
On which a mimic serpent creeps along ; 
His azure length in easy waves extends , 
Till in three heads th' embroider'd monster ends. 
Last o'er his brows his fourfold helm he plac'd , 
With nodding horse-hair formidably grae'd ; 
And in his hands two steely javelins wields , 
That blaze to heaven, and lighten all the fields. 

That instant, Juno, and the martial maid , 
In happy thunders promis'd Greece their aid ; 
High o'er the chief they clash'd their arms in air, 
And , leaning from the clouds , expect the war. 

Close to the limits of the trench and mound , 
The fiery coursers to their chariots bound 
The 'squires restrain'd : the foot, with those who wield 
The lighter arms, rush forward to the field. 
To second these , in close array combin'd , 
The squadrons spread their sable wings behind. 
Now shouts and tumults wake the tardy sun, 
As with the light the warriors' toils begun. 
Ev'n Jove , whose thunder spoke his wrath , distill'd 
Red drops of blood o'er ail the fatal field ; 
The woes of men unwilling to survey , 
And all the slaughters that must stain the day. 

Near Ilus' tomb , in order rang'd around, 
The Trojan lines possess'd the rising ground, 



BOOK XI. SOC) 

There wise Polydamas and Hector stood; 
iEneas , honoured as a guardian god ; 
Bold Polybus , Ygenor the divine , 
The brother -warriors of Antenors Ifrie : 
With youthful Aearoas , whose beauteous face 
And fair proportion matchVi In* ethereal race." 
Great Hector, cover'd with his spacious shield , 
Plies all the troops, and orders all the field. 
As the red star now shades his sanguine fires 
Thro' the dark clouds, and now in night, retires: 
Thus thro' the ranks appear'd the godlike man f 
Plung'd in the rear, or blazing in the van; 
While streamy sparkles . restless as he flies, 
Flash from his arms as lightning from the skies. 
As sweating reapers in some wealthy field, 
Piaug'd in two bands, their crooked weapons wield, 
Bear down the furrows, till their labours meet ; 
Thick fall the heapy harvests at their feet : 
So Greece and Troy the field of war divide , 
And failing ranks are strow'd on every side. 
None stoop'd a thought to base inglorious flight ; 
But horse to horse , and man to man, the}- fight. 
JVot rabid wolves more fierce contest their prey ; 
Each wounds , each bleeds , but none resign the day. 
Discord with joy the scene of death descries , 
And drinks large slaughter at her sanguine eyes ; 
Discord alone , of^ill th' immortal train, 
Swells the red horrors of this direful plain ; 
The gods in peace their golden mansions fill , 
Piang'd in bright order on th' Olympian hill ; 
But general murmurs told their griefs above , ' 
And each accus'd the partial will of Jove. 
Meanwhile apart , superior, and alone , 
Th' eternal monarch , on his awful throne , 
Wrapt in the blaze of boundless glory sat , 
And fix'd, fulfill'd the just decrees of fate. 
On earth he tum'd his all-considering eyes , 
And mark'd the spot where Ilion's towers arise ; 
The sea with ships, the fields with armies spread , 
The victor's 1 age, the dying, and the dead. 

Thus while the morning beams increasing bright 
O'er hearen's pure azure spread the growing light , 



1 1 O HOMERS J L I A D , 

Coramutual death the fate of war confounds } 

Each adverse battle gor'd with equal rounds. 

But new, what time in some sequestered vale 

The weary woodman spreads his spring meal , 

W hen his tir'd arms refuse the axe to rear , 

And claim a respite from the sylvan war ; 

But not till half the prostrate forests Jay 

Stretch'd in lorg ruin , and expos'd to day ; 

Then , nor till then, the Greeks' impulsive might 

Piere'd the black phalanx , and let in the light. 

Great Agamemnon then the slaughter led, 

And slew Ih'enor at his people's head: 

V» hose 'squire Oileus, with a sudden spring , 

Leap'd from the chariot to revenge his king •, 

But in his front he felt the fatal wound , 

V* hie h piere'd his brain , and s reU h'd him on the ground. 

Atrides spoil'd , and left them on the plain: 

Vain was their youth , their glittering armour vain : 

New soil'd with dust, and naked to the e3ky| 

Tlieir snowy limbs and beauteous bodies lie. 

Two sons of Priam next to battle move, 
The product one of marriage , oae of love •, 
li: the same car the brother-warriors ride , 
This took the charge to combat , that to guide: 
Far other task ! than when they wont to keep , 
On Ida's tops, their father's fleecy sheep. 
These on the mountains once Achillea found , 
And captive led , with pliant osiers bound ; 
Then to their sire for ample sums restcrd , 
But now to perish by Atrides' sword : 
Piere'd hi the breast the base-born Isus bleeds ; 
Cleft thro' the head, his brother's fate succeeds. 
Swift to the spoil the hasty victor falls , 
And stript , their features to his mind, recalls. 
The Trojans see the youths untimely die , 
But helpless tremble for themselves , and fly. 
£o when a lion , ranging o'er the lawns , 
Finds, on some grassy tare , the couching fawn*, 
Their bones he cracks , their reeking vitals draws, 
And grinds the quivering flesh with bloody jaws ; 
The frighted hind beholds , and dares not flay , 
But swift thro' rustling thickets hursts her way : 



BOOK XI. 311 

Ail drown'd in sweat the panting mother flies, 
And the big tears roll trickling from her eyes. 

Amidst the tumult of the routed train , 
The sons of false Antimachus were slain ; 
He , who for bribes his faithless counsels sold , 
And voted Helen's stay, for Paris' gold. 
Atrides mark'd as these their safety sought , 
And slew the children for the father's fault ; 
Their headstrong horse unable to restrain , 
They shook with fear, and dropp'd the silken rein ; 
Then in their chariot, on their knees they fail , 
And thus with lifted hands for mercy call : 

« Oh spare our youth , and for the life we owe , 
Antimachus shall copious gifts bestow ; 
Soon as he hears , that , not in battle slain , 
The Grecian ships his captive sons detain , 
Large heaps of brass in ransom shall be told , 
And steel well-temper'd, and persuasive gold. » 

These words , attended with a flood of tears , 
The youths address'd to unrelenting ears : 
The vengeful monarch gave this stern reply : 
« If from Antimachus ye spring , ye die : 
The daring wretch who once in council slood 
To shed Ulysses' and my brother's blood , 
For prcffer'd peace ! and sues his seed for grace ! 
No , die , and pay the forfeit of your race ! » 

This said , Pisander from the car he cast , 
And pierc'd his breast : supine he breath'd his last. 
His brother leap'd to earth , but as he lay , 
The trenchant faulchion lopp'd his hands away ; 
His sever'd head was toss'd among the throng , 
And rolling , drew a bloody train along. 
Then , where the thickest fought , the victor flew ; 
The king's example all his Greeks pursue ; 
3Vow by the foot the flying foot were slain , 
Horse trod by horse , Jay foaming on the plain. 
From the dry. fields thick clouds of dust arise , 
Shade the black host , and intercept the skies. 
The brass-hoof'd steeds tumultuous plunge and bound , 
And the thick thunder beats the labouring ground. 
Still slaughtering on , the king of men proceeds , 
The distanc'd army wonders at his deeds. 



»1 1 HOME ITS ILIAD* 

As when the winds with raging flames conspire , 

And o'er the forests roll the flood of fire , 

In blazing heaps the grove's old honours fall , 

And one refulgent ruin levels all : 

Before Atrides 1 rage so sinks the foe, 

Whole squadrons vanish , and proud heads lie low* 

The steeds fly trembling from his waving sword, 

And many a car, now lighted of its lord , 

Wide o'er the field with guideless fury rolls, 

Breaking their ranks , and crushing out their souls ; 

While his keen faulchion drinks the warriors' lives , 

More grateful , now , to vultures than their wives I 

Perhaps great Hector then had found his fate , 
But Jove and destiny prolong'd his date ; 
Safe from the darts , the care of heaven, he stood, 
Amidst alarms, and deaths, and dust, and blood. 

Now past the tomb where ancient II us lay, 
Thro' the mid field the routed urge their way. 
Where the wild figs th' adjoining summit crown, 
That path they take, and speed to reach the town. 
As swift Atrides, with loud shouts pursu'd, 
Hot with his toil, and bath'd in hostile blood. 
Now near the beech- tree , and the Sceean gates , 
The hero halts , and his associates waits. 
Meanwhile on every side, around the plain, 
Dispers'd, disordered, fly the Trojan train. 
So flies a herd of beeves , that hear dismay'd 
The lion's roaring thro' the midnight shade; 
On heaps they tumble with successless haste , 
The savage seizes , draws , and rends the last : 
Not with less fury stern Atrides flew , 
Still press'd the rout , and still the hindmost slew ; 
Hurl'd from their cars the bravest chiefs are kilPd , 
And rage, and death, and carnage, load the field. 

Now storms the victor at the Trojan wall , 
Surveys the towers , and meditates their fall. 
But Jove descending shook th' Ideean hills , 
And down their summits pour'd a hundred rills : 
Th' uukindled lightnings in his hand he took , 
And thus the many-colour'd maid bespoke : 

« Iris , with haste thy golden wings display , 
To godlike Hector this our word convey : 



BOOK XI. 2l3 

While Agamemnon wastes the ranks around , 
Fights in the front , and hathes with blood the ground , 
Bid him give way ; hut issue forth commands , 
And trust the war to less important hands; 
But when 9 or wounded by the spear or dart, 
That chief shall mount his chariot , and depart, 
Then Jove shall string his arms, and fire his breast , 
Then to her ships shall flying Greece he press'd , 
Till to the main the burning sun descend, 
And sacred night her awful shade extend. » 

He spoke , and Iris at his word obeyed ; 
On wings of winds descends the various maid. 
The chief she found amidst the ranks of war, 
Close to the bulwarks , on his glittering car. 
The goddess then : « O son of Priam , hear ! 
From Jove I come , and his high mandate bear. 
While Agamemnon wastes the ranks around , 
Fights in the front , and hathes with blood the ground , 
x4bstain from fight *, yet issue forth commands , 
And trust the war to less important hands. 
But when , or wounded by the spear or dart, 
The chief shall mount his chariot, and depart, 
Then Jove shall string thy arm , and fire thy breast ? 
Then to her ships shall flying Greece be press'd , 
Till to the main the burning sun descend, 
And sacred night her awful shade extend. » 

She said, and vanished: Hector , with a bound, 
Springs from his chariot on the trembling ground 
In clanging arms ; he grasps in either hand 
A pointed lance , and speeds from band to band , 
Pievives their ardour, turns their steps from flight, 
And wakes anew the dying flames of fight. 
They stand to arms: the Greeks their onset dare , 
Condense their powers , and wait the coming war. 
New force , new spirit to each breast returns : 
The fight renevv'd, with fiercer fury burns: 
The king leads on, all fix on. him their e}e , 
And learn from him to conquer, or to die. 

Ye sacred nine , celestial Muses ! tell 
Who fac'd him first , and by his prowess fell ? 
The great Iphidamas , the bold and young, 
From sage Autenor and Tlyeano sprung *, 



2^4 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

"Whom from his youth his grand sire Cisseus bred , 
And nurs'd in Thrace where snowy flocks are fed. 
Scarce did the down his rosy cheeks invest, 
And early honour warm his generous breast , 
When the kind sire consigned his daughter's charms, 
Theano's sister, to his youthful arms. 
But call'd by glory to the wars of Tlroy , 
He leaves untasted the first, fruits of joy ; 
From his lov'd bride departs with melting eyes, 
And swift to aid his dearer country flies. 
With twelve black ships he reach'd Percope's strand, 
Thence took the long , laborious march by land. 
Now fierce for fame, before the ranks he springs, 
Towering in arms , and braves the king of kings. 
Atrides first discharged the missive spear, 
The Trojan stoop'd , the javelin pass'd in air. 
Then near the corslet , at the monarch's heai t , 
With all his strength the youth directs his dart ; 
But the broad belt, with plates of silver bound, 
The point rebated, and repell'd the wound. 
Encumber'd with the dart , Atrides stands, 
Till, grasp'd with force, he wrench'd it from Lis bands. 
At once his weighty sword discharged a wound 
Full on his neck, that fell'd him to the ground. 
Stretch'd in the dust, th' unhappy warrior lies, 
And sleep eternal seals his swimming eyes. 
Oh worthy better fate ! oh early slain ! 
Thy country's friend , and virtuous , tho' in vain ! 
IN T o more the youth shall join his consort's side , 
At once a virgin , and at once a bride ! 
JVo more with presents her embraces meet, 
Or lay the spoils of conquest at her feet , 
On whom his passion , lavish of his store , 
Bestow 'd so much, and vainly promis'd more! 
Unwept , uncover'd , on the plain he lay , 
While the proud victor bore his arms away. 
Coon , Antenor's eldest hope , was nigh ; 
Tears, at the sight, came starting from his eye, 
While piere'd with grief the much-lov'd youth he view'd. 
And the pale features , now deform'd w'ith blood. 
Then with his spear, unseen , his time lie took , 
Aim'd at the king , and near his elbow struck. 



BOOK XI. 3l5 

The thrilling steel transpierced the brawny part, 
And thro' his arm stood forth the barbed dart. 
Surpriz'd, the monarch feels , yet, void of fear, 
On Coon rushes with his lifted spear : 
His brother's corpse the pious Trojan draws , 
And calls his country to assert his cause , 
Defends him breathless on the sanguine field, 
And o'er the body spreads his ample shield. 
Atrides , marking an unguarded part, 
TranshVd the warrior with his brazen dart ; 
Prone on his brother's bleeding breast he lay , 
The monarch's faulchion lopp'd his head away ; 
The social shades the same dark journey go , 
And join each other in the realms below. 

The vengeful victor rages round the fields , 
With every weapon , art or fury yields ; 
By the long lance, the sword , or ponderous stone, 
Whole ranks are broken, and whole troops o'er thrown, 
This , while jet warm , distili'd the purple flood ; 
But when the wound grew stiff with clotted blood, 
Then grinding tortures his strong bosom rend , 
Less keen those darts the fierce Ilythiae send , 
The powers that cause the teeming matron's throes, 
Sad mothers of unutterable woes ! 
Stung with the smart, all panting with the pain, 
He mounts the car, and gives his 'squire the rein : 
Then with a voice which fury made more strong , 
And pain augmented , thus exhorts the throng : 

« O friends ! O Greeks! assert your honours won ; 
Proceed , and finisli what this arm begun: 
Lo ! angry Jove forbids your chief to stay, 
And envies half the glories of the day. » 

He said : the driver whirls his lengthful thong ; 
The horses fly ; the chariot smokes along. 
Clouds from their nostrils the fierce coursers blow . 
And from their sides the foam descends in snow ; 
Shot thro' the battle in a moment's space, 
The wounded monarch at his tent they place. 

JNo sooner Hector saw the king retir'd , 
But thus his Trojans and his aids he fir'd : 
<t Hear, all yc Bard an ', all ye Lycian race ! 
Fam'd in close light , and dreadful face to face ; 



2l6 HOMEPCS ILIAD. 

Now call to mind your ancient trophies won , 
Your great forefathers' virtues , and your own. 
Behold , the general flies ! deserts his powers ! 
Lo! Jove himself declares the conquest ours ! 
Now on yon ranks impel your foaming steeds , 
And, sure of glory, dare immortal deeds. » 

With words like these the fiery chief alarms 
His fainting host , and every bosom warms. 
As the hold hunter cheers his hounds to tear 
The brindled lion , or the tusky bear , 
With voice and hand provokes their doubting heart, 
And springs the foremost with his lifted dart : 
5o godlike Hector prompts his troops to dare ; 
Nor prompts alone, but leads himself the war. 
On the black body of the foes he pours : 
As from the clouds' deep bosom swell'd with showers , 
A sudden storm the purple ocean sweeps , 
Drives the wild waves , and tosses all the deeps. 
Say, Muse! when Jove the Trojan's glory crown'd, 
Beneath his arm what heroes bit the ground i 
Assaeus , Dolops , and Antonous dy'd , 
Opites next was added to their side , 
Then brave Hipponous , fam'd in many a fight , 
Opheltius , Orus , sunk to endless night, 
JEsymnus, Agclaus 3 all chiefs of name ; 
The rest were vulgar deaths , unknown to fame. 
As when a western whirlwind, charg'd with storms. 
Dispels the gather'd clouds that JNotus forms ; 
The gust coutinu'd , violent and strong , 
Rolls sable clouds in heaps on heaps along : 
Now to the skies the foaming billows rears , 
Now breaks the surge , and wide the bottom bares : 
Thus raging Hector, with resistless hands, 
O'erturns, confounds, and scatters all their bands. 
Now the last ruin the whole host appalls , 
Now Greece had trembled in her wooden walls ; 
But wise Ulysses call'd Tydides forth , 
His soul rekindled , and awak'd his worth. 
« And stand we deedless , O eternal shame ! 
Till Hector's arm involve the ships in fJame l . 
Haste, let us join, and combat side by side. » 
The warrior thus ; and thus the friend reply'il: 



BOOK XI. 217 

a No martial toil I shun , no danger~fear , 
Let Hector come *, I wait his fury here. 
But Jove with conquest crowns the Trojan train , 
And , Jove our foe , all human force is vain. » 

He sigh'd ; hut sighing , raised his vengeful steel 
And from his car the proud Thymbrseus fell : 
Molion , the charioteer , pursu'd his lord , 
His death ennobled by Ulysses' sword. 
There slain , they left them in eternal night ; 
Then plung'd amidst the thickest ranks of fight. 
So two wild hoars outstrip the following hounds , 
Then swift revert , and wounds return for wounds. 
Stern Hector's conquests in the middle plain 
Stood check'd a wlrile , and Greece respir'd again. 

The sons of Merops shone amidst the war ; 
Towering they rode in one refulgent car : 
In deep prophetic arts their father skilPd , 
Had warn'd his children from the Trojan field ; 
Fate urg'd them on *, the father warn'd in vain. 
They rush'd to fight, and perish'd on the plain! 
Their breast no more* the vital spirit warms ; 
The stern Tydides strips their shining arms. 
Hypirochus by great Ulysses dies , 
And rich Hippodamus becomes his prize. 
Great Jove from Ide with slaughter fills his sight , 
And level hangs the doubtful scale of fight. 
By Tydeus' lance Agastrophus was slain , 
The far-fam'd hero of Paeonian strain ; 
Wing'd with his fears , on foot he strove to fly ? 
His steeds too distant , and the foe too nigh ; 
Thro' broken orders , swifter than the wind , 
He fled , but flying , left his life behind. 
This Hector sees , as his experienc'd eyes 
Traverse the files , and to the rescue flies ; 
Shouts , as he past , the crystal regions rend , 
And moving armies on his march attend. 
Great Diomed himself was seiz'd with fear , 
And thus bespoke his brother of the war : 

a Mark how this way yon bending squadrons yield ! 
The storm rolls on , and Hector rules the field : 
Here stand his utmost force u — The warrior said ; 
Swift at the word, his ponderous javelin fled ; 

10 



2l8 HOMERS ILIAD. 

Nor miss'd its aim , but where the plumage danc'd , 

Raz'd the smooth cone , and thence obliquely glanc'd. 

Safe in his helm , the gift of Phoebus' hands , 

Without a wound the Trojan hero stands *, 

But yet so stunn'd , that staggering on the plain 9 

His arm and knee his sinking bulk sustain ; 

O'er his dim sight the misty vapours rise , 

And a short darkness shades his swimming eyes. 

Tydides follow'd to regain his lance ; 

While Hector rose , recovered from the trance , 

Remounts his car, and herds amidst the croud ; 

The Greek pursues him , and exults aloud. 

« Once more thank Phoebus for thy forfeit breath , 
Or thank that swiftness which outstrips the death. 
Well by Apollo are thy prayers repaid , 
And oft that partial power has lent his aid. 
Thou shalt not long the death deserv'd withstand , 
If any god assist Tydides' hand. 
Fly then , inglorious ! but thy flight , this day , 
Whole hecatombs of Trojan ghosts shall pay, u 

Him , while he triumph'd , Paris ey'd from far , 
The spouse of Helen , the fair cause of war : 
Around the fields his feather'd shafts he sent , 
From ancient Ilus' ruin'd monument ; 
Behind the column plac'd , he bent his bow > 
And wing'd an arrow at th' unwary foe ; 
Just as he stoop'd , Agastrophus' crest 
To seize ? and drew the corslet from his breast. 
The bow-string twang'd ; nor flew the shaft in vain , 
But pierc'd his foot , and naiPd it to the plain. 
The laughing Trojan , with a joyful spring 
Leaps from his ambush , and insults the king. 

« He bleeds ! ( he cries ) some god has sped my dart j 
Would the same god had fix'd it in his heart ! 
So Troy , reliev'd from that wide-wasting hand , 
Shall breathe from slaughter , and in combat stand , 
Whose sons now tremble at his darted spear , 
As scattered lambs the rushing lion fear. » 

He dauntless thus : « Thou conqueror of the fair ? 
Thou woman -warrior with the curling hair ; 
Vain archer ! trusting to the distant dart , 
Unskill'd in arms to act a manly part ! 



BOOK XF. ftl< 

Thou hast hut done what hoys or women can ; 
Such hands may wound , hut not incense a man. 
Nor boast the scratch thy feeble arrow gave ; 
A coward's weapon never hurts the brave. 
Not so this dart , which thou may'st one day feel : 
Fate wings its flight , and death is on the steel. 
Where this but lights, some noble life expires , 
Its touch makes orphans , bathes the cheeks of sires , 
Steeps earth in purple , gluts the birds of air, 
And leaves such objects as distract the fair. 

Ulysses hastens , with a trembling heart , 
Before him steps , and bending draws the dart : 
Forth flows the blood ; an eager pang succeeds ; 
Tydides mounts , and to the navy speeds. 

Now on the field Ulysses stands alone , 
The Greeks all fled , the Trojans pouring on : 
But stands collected in himself and whole , 
And questions thus his own unconquer'd soul : 

« What farther subterfuge , what hopes remain % 
What shame , inglorious if I quit the plain ? 
What danger, singly if I stand the ground, 
My friends all scatter'd , all the foes around ? 
Yet wherefore doubtful l . let this truth suffice : 
The brave meets danger, and the coward flies •, 
To die or conquer , proves a hero's heart ; 
And knowing this, I know a soldier's part. » 

Such thoughts revolving in his careful breast , 
Near , and more near , the shady cohorts prest : 
These, in the warrior, their own fate inclose; 
And round him deep the steely circle grows. 
So fares a boar, whom all the troop surrounds 
Of shouting huntsmen , and of clamorous hounds ; 
He grinds his ivory tusks ; he foams with ire j 
His sanguine eye-balls glare with living fire ; 
By these , by those , on every part is ply'd ; 
And the red slaughter spreads on every side. 
Pierc'd thro' the shoulder , first Deiopis fell ; 
Next Ennomus and Thoon sunk to hell ; 
Chersidamas , beneath the navel thrust , 
Falls prone to earth , and grasps the bloody dust, 
Charops , the son of Hippasus , was near ; 
Ulysses reach'd him with the fatal spear ; 



220 HOMER 7 S ILIAD. 

But to his aid his brother Socus flies 9 

Socus the brave ,^tbe generous , and the wise : 

Near as he drew , the warrior thus began : 

« O great Ulysses , much enduring man ! 

Not deeper skill'd in every martial slight , 

Than worn to toils , and active in the fight ! 

This day two brothers shall thy conquest grace , 

And end at once the great Hippasian race , 

Or thou beneath this lance must press the field. » 

He said , and forceful pierc'd his spacious shield : 

Thro' the strong brass the ringing javelin thrown , 

Plow'd half his side , and bar'd it to the bone. 

By Pallas' care , the spear , tho' deep infix' d , 

Stopp'd short of life , nor with his entrails mix'd. 

The wound not mortal wise Ulysses knew , 
Then furious thus, but first some steps withdrew :~ 
« Unhappy man ! whose death our hands shall grace ! 
Fate calls thee hence , and finish'd is thy race ! 
No longer check my conquests on the foe ; 
But pierc'd by this , to endless darkness go , 
And add one spectre to the realms below ! » 

He spoke , while Socus , seiz'd with sudden fright , 
Trembling gave way, and turn'd his back to flight ; 
Between his shoulders pierc'd the following dart, 
And held its passage thro' the panting heart. 
Wide in his breast appear'd the grisly wound ; 
He falls , his armour rings against the ground. 
Then thus Ulysses, gazing on the slain : 
« Fam'd son of Hippasus ! there press the plain; 
There ends thy narrow span assign'd by fate , 
Heaven owes Ulysses yet a longer date. 
Ah , wretch ! no father shall thy corpse compose , 
Thy dying eyes no tender mother close ; 
But hungry birds shall tear those balls away , 
And hovering vultures scream around their prey. 
Me Greece shall honour , when I meet my doom , 
With solemn funerals and a lasting tomb. » 

Then raging with intolerable smart , 
He writhes his body , and extracts the dart. 
The dart a tide of spouting gore pursu'd , 
And gladden'd Troy with sight of hostile blood. 



BOOK XI. 221 

Now troops on troops the fainting chief invade, 
Forc'd he recedes , and loudly calls for aid. 
Thrice to its pitch his lofty voice he rears ; 
The well known voice thrice Menelaus hears : 
Alarm'd , to Ajax Telamon he cry'd , 
"Who shares his lahours , and defends his side : 
« O friend ! Ulysses' shouts invade my ear ; 
Distress'd he seems , and no assistance near : 
Strong as he is , yet , one oppos'd to all , 
Oppres'd by multitudes , the best may fall. 
Greece , robb'd of him , must bid her host despair, 
And feel a loss not ages can repair ! » 

Then where the cry directs , his course he bends ; 
Great Ajax , like the god of war, attends. 
The prudent chief in sore distress they found , 
With bands of furious Trojans compass'd round, 
As when some huntsman , with a flying spear, 
From the blind thicket wounds a stately deer ; 
Down his cleft side while fresh the blood distils , 
He bounds aloft , and scuds from hills to hills : 
Till life's warm vapour issuing thro' the wound , 
Wild mountain wolves the fainting beast surrou ad *. 
Just as their jaws his prostrate limbs invade , 
The lion rushes thro' the woodland shade, 
The wolves , tho' hungry, scour dispers'd away ; 
The lordly savage vindicates his prey : 
Ulysses thus , unconquer'd by his pains , 
A single warrior, half an host sustains; 
But soon as Ajax heaves his tower-like shield , 
The scatter'd crowds fly frighted o'er the field ; 
Atrides' arm the sinking hero stays , 
And sav'd from numbers , to his car conveys. 

Victorious Ajax plies the routed crew ; 
And first Doryclus , Priam's son , he slew *, 
On strong Pandocus next inflicts a wound, 
And lays Lysander bleeding on the ground. 
As when a torrent , swell'd with wintery rains , 
Pours from the mountains o'er the delug'd plains , 
And pines and oaks , from their foundations torn 
A country's ruins ! to the seas are born : 
Fierce Ajax thus o'erwhelms the yielding throng f 
Men, steeds, and chariots, roll in heaps along. 



2£2 HOMER'S ILIAB. 

But Hector, from this scene of slaughter far, 

Jftag'd on the left , and rul'd the tide of war : 

Loud groans proclaim his progress thro* the plaiiS 7 

And deep Scamandar swells with heaps of slain. 

There Nestor and Idomeneus oppose 

The warrior's fury ; there the battle glows ; 

There fierce on foot , or from the chariot's height , 

His sword deforms the beauteous ranks of fight*, 

The spouse of Helen dealing darts around, 

Had pierc'd Machaon with a distant wound : 

In his right shoulder the broad shaft appear'd , 

And trembling Greece for her physician fear'd. 

To Nestor then Idomeneus began : 

« Glory of Greece , old Neleus' valiant son ! 

Ascend thy chariot , haste with speed away, 

And great Machaon to the ships convey : 

A wise physician, skill'd our wounds to heal, 

Is more than armie to the public weal, » 

Old Nestor mounts -he seat : beside him rode 
The wounded offspring of the healing god. 
He lends the lash ; the steeds with sounding feet 
Shake the dry field , and thunder tow'rd the fleet. 

But now Cibriones , from Hector's car, 
Survey'd the various fortune of the war. 
« While here (he crj'd) the flying Greeks are slain ? 
Trojans on Trojans yonder load the plain. 
Before great Ajax see the mingled throng 
Of men and chariots driven in heaps along! 
I know him well, distinguish'd o'er the field 
By the broad glittering of the seven-fold shield. 
Thither, O Hector ! thither urge thy steeds; 
There danger calls , and there the combat bleeds r» 
There horse and foot in mingled deaths unite , 
And groans of slaughter mix with shouts of fight. » 

Thus having spoke , the driver's lash resounds ; 
Swift thro' the ranks the rapid chariot bounds ; 
Stung by the stroke, the coursers scour the fields, 
O'er heaps of carcasses, and hills of shields. 
The horses' hoofs are bath'd in heroes' gore, 
And dashing , purple all the car before ; 
The groaning axle sable drops distils, 
And mangled carnage clogs the rapid wheels. 



BOOK XT. 2,2.0 

Here Hector, plunging thro' the thickest fight , 
Broke the dark phalanx , and let in the light : 
By the long lance, the swOrd, or ponderous stone, 
The ranks lie scatter'd, and the troops o'erthrown, 
Ajax he shuns, thro' all the dire debate*, 
And fears that arm , whose force he felt so late. 
But partial Jove, espousing Hector's part, 
Shot heaven-bred horror thro' the Grecian's heart ; 
Confus'd, unnerv'd in Hector's presence grown, 
Ainaz'd he stood , with terrors not his own. 
O'er his broad back his moony shield he threw, 
And glaring round , with tardy steps withdrew, 
Thus the grim lion his retreat maintains , 
Beset with watchful dogs and shouting swains , 
Repuls'd by numbers from the nightly stalls , 
Tho' rage impels him , and tho' hunger calls , 
Long stands the showering darts , and missile fires ; 
Then sourly slow th' indignant beast retires. 
So turn'd stern Ajax , by whole hosts repell'd, 
While his swoln heart at every step rebell'd. 

As the slow beast with heavy strength endu'd . 
In some wide field by troops of boys pursu'd. 
Tho' round his sides a wooden tempest rain 
Crops the tall harvest and lays waste the plain ; 
Thick on his hide the hollow blows resound, 
The patient animal maintains his ground, 
Scarce from the field with all their efforts chas'd. 
And stirs but slowly when he stirs at last : 
On Ajax thus a weight of Trojans hung, 
The strokes redoubled on his buckler rung ; 
Confiding now in bulky strength he stands , 
Now turns, and backward bears the yielding bands; 
Now stiff recedes , yet hardly seems to fly, 
And threats his followers with retorted eye. 
Fix'd as the bar between two warring powers , 
While hissing darts descend in iron showers : 
In his broad buckler many a Aveapon stood, 
Its surface bristled with a quivering wood ; 
And many a javelin, guiltless on the plain , 
Marks the dry dust, and thirsts for blood in vi 
But bold Eurypylus his aid imparts , 
And dauntless springs beneath a cloud of darts ; 



224 HOMER ? S ILIAD. 

"Whose eager javelin launched against the foe ? 
Great Apisaon felt the fatal blow •, 
From his torn liver the red current flowed , 
And his slack knees desert their dying load, 
The victor rushing to despoil the dead , 
From Paris' bow a vengeful arrow fled : . 
Fix'd in his nervous thigh the weapon stood , 
Fix'd was the point, but broken was the wood. 
Back to the lines the wounded Greek retir'd , 
Yet thus , retreating, his associates fiVd : 

« What god , O Grecians ! has your hearts dismay M I 
Oh , turn to arms ; His Ajax claims your aid. 
This hour he stands the mark of hostile rage , 
And this the last brave battle he shall wage : 
Haste , join your forces ; from the gloomy grave 
The warrior rescue , and your country save. » 

Thus urg'd the chief; a generous troop appears % 
Who spread their bucklers, and advance their spears. 
To guard their wounded friend : while thus they stand 
With pious care, great Ajax joins the band : 
Each takes new courage at the hero's sight. 
The hero rallies, and renews the fight. 

Thus rag'd both armies like conflicting fires, 
"While Nestor's chariot far from fight retires : 
His coursers steep'd in sweat, and staiu'd with gore, 
The Greeks' preserver, great Machaon , bore. 
That hour, Achilles , from the topmost height 
Of his proud fleet , o'erlook'd the fields of fight ; 
His feasted eyes beheld around the plain 
The Grecian rout , the slaying and the slain. 
His friend Machaon singled from the rest , 
A transient pity touch'd his vengeful breast. 
Strait to Mencetius' much lov'd son he sent; 
Graceful as Mars , Patroclus quits his tent : 
In evil hour! then fate decreed his doom, 
And fix'd the date of all his woes to come ! 

« Why calls my friend? thy lov'd injunctions lay ; 
W 7 hate'er thy will , Patroclus shall obey. » 

— « O first of friends ! ( Pelides thus reply'd ) 
Still at my heart , and ever at my side ! 
The time is come , when yon despairing host 
Shall learn the value of the man they lost ; 



BOOK XI. 22-5 

Now at my knees the Greeks shall pour their moan, 
And proud Atrides tremble on his throne. 
Go now to Nestor, and from him he taught 
What wounded warrior late his chariot brought 2 . 
For seen at distance , and but seen behind , 
His form recall'd Machaon to my mind ; 
Nor could I , thro' yon cloud , discern his face , 
The coursers pass'd me with so swift a pace. » 

The hero said. His friend obey'd with haste ; 
Thro' intermingled ships and tents he past ; 
The chiefs descending from their car he found ; 
The panting steeds Eurymedon unbound; 
The warriors standing on the breezy shore, 
To dry their sweat , and wash awajr the gore , 
Here paus'd a moment , while the gentle gale 
Convey'd that freshness the cool seas exhale ; 
Then to consult on farther methods went , 
And took their seats beneath the shady tent. 
The draught prescrib'd , fair Hecamede prepares , 
Arsinous' daughter, grac'd with golden hairs , 
Whom to his aged arms , a royal slave , 
Greece, as the prize of Nestor's wisdom, gave. 
A table first with azure feet she plac'd , 
Whose ample orb a brazen charger grac'd : 
Honey new piess'd, the sacred Hour of wheat. 
And wolesome garlic crown'd the savoury treat, 
Next her white hand an antique goblet brings , 
A goblet sacred to the Pyliau kings , 
From eldest times : the massy sculptur'd vase, 
Glittering with golden studs, four handles grace ; 
And curling vines around each handle roll'd , 
Support two turtle-doves emboss'd in gold : 
A massy weight , yet heav'd with ease by him, 
When the brisk nectar overlook'd the brim. 
Temper'd in this, the nymph of form divine 
Pours a large potion of the Pramnian wine; 
With goat's-milk cheese a flavourous taste bestows, 
And last with Hour the smiling surface strows. 
This for the wounded prince the dame prepares ; 
The cordial beverage reverend Nestor shares; 
Salubrious draughts the warrior's thirst allay, 
And pleasing confeience beguiles the day. 



226 HOMERS ILIAD. 

Meantime Patroclus , by A "hilles sent , 
Unheard approach'd, and sxood before the tent. 
Old Nestor rising then , the hero led 
To his high seat ; the chief refus'd , and said: 

« 'Tis now no season for these kind delays , 
The great Achilles with impatience stays. 
To great Achilles this respect I owe , 
Who asks what hero, wounded by the foe, 
Was borne from combat by thy foaming steeds^ 
With grief I see the great Machaon bleeds. 
This to report , my hasty course I bend ; 
Thou know'st the fiery temper of my friend. » 

— « Can then the sons of Greece ( the sage rejoiiiM) 
Excite compassion in Achilles' mind l . 
Seeks he the sorrows of our host to know? 
This is not half the story of our woe. 
Tell him , not great Machaon bleeds alone , 
Our bravest heroes in the navy groan , 
Ulysses, Agamemnon, Diomed, 
And stern Eurypylus , already bleed. 
But ah ! what flattering hopes I entertain ! 
Achilles heeds not , but derides our pain : 
Ev'n till the flames consume our fleet , he stays ? 
And waits the rising of the fatal blaze. 
Chief after chief the raging foe destroys ; 
Calm he looks on, and every death enjoys. 
Now the slow course of all-impairing time 
Unstrings my nerves , and ends my manly prime $ 
Oh ! had 1 still that strength my youth possess'd^ 
When this bold arm th' Epeian powers oppressed , 
The bulls of Elis in glad triumph led, 
And stretch' d the great Itymonaeus dead ! 
Then from my fury fled the trembling swains , 
And ours was all the plunder of the plains : 
Fifty white flocks , full fifty herds of swine , 
As many goats, as many lowing kine ; 
And thrice the number of unrival'd steeds, 
All teeming females , and of generous breeds. 
These , as my first essay of arms , I won *, 
Old Neleus glory'd in his conquering son. 
Thus Elis forcM , her long arrears restor'd , 
And shares were parted to eaeh Pyliaa lord. 



BOOK XT. 2.2^ 

The state of Pyle was sunk to last despair, 
When the proud Elians first commenc'd the war. 
For ]Neleus' sons Alcides' rage had slain ; 
Of twelve bold brothers , I alone remain ! 
Oppress'd, we arin'd, and now, this conquest gain'd, 
My sire three hundred chosen sheep obtain'd. 
That large reprisal he might justly claim, 
For prize defrauded , and insulted fame , 
When Elis' monarch in the public course 
Detain'd his chariot, and victorious horse. 
The rest the people shar'd ; myself survey'd 
The just partition, and due victim?- pay'd. 
Three days were past , when Elis rose to war , 
With many a courser , and with many a car ; 
The sons of Actor , at their army's head , 
Young as they were , the vengeful squadrons led. 
High on a rock fair Thryoessa stands , 

Our utmost frontier on the Pylian lands ; 

Not far the streams of fam'd Alphaeus flow ; 

The stream they pass'd , and pitch'd their tents below. 

Pallas , descending in the shades of night , 

Alarms the Pylians, and commands the fight. 

Each burns for fame , and swells with martial pride ; 

Myself the foremost *, but my sire deny'd ; 

Fear'd for my youth , expos' d to stern alarms , 

And stopp'd my chariot , and detain'd my arms. 

My sire deny'd in vain : on foot I fled 

Amidst our chariots : for the goddess led. 
« Along fair Arene's delightful plain , 

Soft Mynias rolls his waters to the main. 

There , horse and foot , the Pylian troops unite , 

And sheath'd in arms , expect the dawning light. 

Thence, ere the sun advanc'd his noon-day fiame, 

To great Alphaeus' sacred source we came. 

There first to Jove our solemn rites were paid ; 

An untam'd heifer pleas'd the blue-ey'd maid , 

A bull Alphaeus ; and a bull was jslain 

To the blue monarch of the watery main. 

In arms we slept , beside the winding flood , 

While round the town the fierce Epeians stood. 

Soon as the sun , with all- revealing ray , 

Flazn'd in the front of heaven, and gave the day y 



aa8 

Bright scenes of arms , and works of war appear ; 

The nations meet ; there Pylos , Elis here. 

The first who fell, heneath my javelin hied; 

King Augias' son , and spouse of Agamede : 

She that all simples' healing virtues knew , 

And every herb that drinks the morning dew. 

I seiz'd his car , the van of battle led ; 

Th' Epeians saw , they trembled , and they fled. 

The foe dispers'd , their bravest warrior kili'd , 

Fierce as a whirlwind now I swept the field : 

Full fifty captive chariots grac'd my train ; 

Two chiefs from each fell breathless to the plain. 

Then Actor's sons had dy'd, but Neptune shrouds 

The youthful heroes in a veil of clouds. 

O'er heapy shields , and o'er the prostrate throng , 

Collecting spoils , and slaughtering all along , 

Thro' wide Buprasian fields we forc'd the foes, 

Where o'er the vak'S th' Olenian rocks arose ; 

Till Pallas stopp'd us where Alisium flows. 

Ev'n there , the hindmost of their rear I slay, 

And the same arm that led , concludes the day •, 

Then back to Pyle triumphant take my way. ) 

There to high Jove were public thanks assign'd , 

As first of gods , to Nestor , of mankind. 

Such then I was, impell'd by youthful blood , 
So prov'd my valour for my country's good. 
Achilles with unactive fury glows 9 
And gives to passion what to Greece he owes. 
How shall he grieve , when to th' eternal shade 
Her hosts shall sink , nor his the power to aid I 
O friend ! my memory recalls the day , 
When gathering aids along the Grecian sea , - 
I, and Ulysses , touch'd at Phthia's port , 
And enter'd Peleus' hospitable court. 
A bull to Jove he slew in sacrifice, 
And pour'd libations on the flaming thighs. 
Thyself, Achilles, and thy reverend sire, 
Mencetius , turn'd the fragments on the fire. 
Achilles sees us, to the feast invites ; 
Social we sit , and share the genial rites. 
We then explain'd the cause on which we came , 
Vrg'd you to arms , and found you fierce for fame . 



i 



BOOK XI. 229 

Your .ancient fathers generous precepts gave , 

Peleus said only this : My son , be brave. 

Menoetius thus : Tho' great Achilles shine 

In strength superior , and of race divine, 

Yet cooler thoughts thy elder years attend ; 

Let thy just counsels aid , and rule thy friend. 

Thus spoke your father at Thessalia's court ; 

Words now forgot , tho' now of vast import. 

Ah ! try the utmost that a friend can say , 

Such gentle force the fiercest minds obey ; 

Some favouring god Achilles' heart may move ; 

Tho' deaf to glory , he may yield to love. 

If some dire oracle his breast alarm, 

If ought from heaven withhold his saving arm ; 

Some beam of comfort yet on Greece may shine , 

If thou but lead the Myrmidonian line ; 

Clad in Achilles' arms , if thou appear , 

Proud Troy may tremble , and desist from war •, 

Press'd by fresh forces , her o'erlabour'd train 

Shall seek their walls , and Greece respire again. » 

This touch'd his generous heart , and from the tent 
Along the shore with hasty strides he went ; 
Soon as he came , where , on the crowded strand , 
The public^mart and courts of justice stand, 
Where the tali fleet of great Ulysses lies , 
And altars to the guardian gods arise •, 
There sad he met the brave Evaemon's son , 
Large painml drops from all his members run , 
An arrow's head yet rooted in his wound , 
The sable blood in circles mark'd the ground. 
As faintly reeling he confess'd the smart , 
Weak was his pace , but dauntless was his heart. 
Divine compassion touch'd Patroclus' breast, 
Who , sighing , thus his bleeding friend addrest : 

« Ah , hapless leaders of the Grecian host ! 
Thus must ye perish on a barbarous coast £ 
Is this your fate, to glut the dogs with gore, 
Far from your friends , and from your native shore 1 
Say , great Eurypylus! shall Greece yet stand I 
Resists she yet the raging Hector's hand l . 
Or are her heroes doom'd to die with shame? 
And this the period of our wars and fame \ » 



a3o homer's iliAd. book xr. 

Eurypyius replies : « No more , my friend , 
Greece is no more ! this day her glories end. 
Ev'n to the ships victorious Troy pursues , 
Her force increasing as her toil renews. 
Those chiefs , that us'd her utmost rage to meet , 
Lie pierc'd with wounds , and bleeding in the fleet. 
But thou, Patroclus! act a frieudly part , 
Lead to my ships , and draw this deadly dart ; 
With lukewarm water wash the gore away, 
With healing balms the raging smart allay, 
Such as sage Chiron, sire of pharmacy, 
Once taught AchilJes, and Achilles thee. 
Of two fam'd surgeons , Podalirius stands 
This hour surrounded by the Trojan bands ; 
And great Machaon, wounded in his tent, 
Now wants that succour which so oft' he lent. » 

To him the chief : « What then remains to do? 
Th* event of things the gods alone can view. 
Charg'd by Achilles' great command I fly, 
And bear with haste the Pylian king's reply : 
But thy distress this instant claims relief. » 
He said, and in his arms upheld the chief. 
The slaves their master's slow approach survey'd ? 
And hides of oxen on the floor display'd : 
There stretch'd at length the wounded hero lay, 
Patroclus cut the forky steel away. 
Theu in his hands a bitter root he bruis'd ; 
The wound he wash'd, the styptic juice infus'd. 
The closing flesh that instant ceas'd to glow., 
The wound to torture, and the blood to flow. 



THE ARGUMENT. 

The Battle at the Grecian wall. 

The Greeks being retired into their entrenchments, Hector 
attempts to force them p but it proving impossible to pass 
the ditch , Polydamas advises to quit their chariots , and 
manage the attack on foot. The Trojans follow his counsel, 
and having divided their army into five bodies of foot, be- 
gin the assault. But upon the si^n^l of an eagle with a 
serpent in his talons , which appeared on the left hand 
of the Trojans , Polydamas endeavours to withdraw them 
again. This Hector opposes, and coninues the attack, in 
which, after many actions, Sarpedon makes the first breach 
in the wall ; Hector also casting a stone of a vast size, forces 
open one of the gates, and enters at the head of his troops, 
who victoriously pursue the Grecians even to their ships. 



THE 

ILIAD. 

BOOK XII. 



YV rile thus the hero's pious cares attend 
The cure and safety of his wounded friend, 
Trojans and Greeks with clashing shields engage , 
And mutual deaths are dealt with mutual rage. 
Nor long the trench or lofty walls oppose ; 
With gods averse th' ill-fated works arose ; 
Their powers neglected , and no victims slain , 
The walls were rais'd , the trenches sunk in vain. 

Without the gods , how short a period stands 
The proudest monument of mortal hands! 
This stood , while Hector and Achilles rag'd , 
While sacred Troy the warring hosts engag'd ; 
But when her sons were slain , her city burn'd , 
And what surviv'd of Greece to Greece return'd ; 
Then ]\ T eptune and Apollo shook the shore, 
Then Ida's summits pourM their watery store ; 
Rhesus and Rhodius then unite their rills , 
Caresus roaring down the stony hills, 
iEsepus , Granicus , with mingled force, 
And Xanthus foaming from his fruitful source , 
And gulphy Simois , rolling to the main 
Helmets , and shields , and godlike heroes slain : 
These turn'd by Phoebus from their wonted ways . 
Delug'd the rampire nine continual days; 
The weight of waters saps the yielding wall . 
And to the sea the floating bulwarks fall. 
Incessant cataracts the thunderer pours , 
And half the skies descend in sluicy showers . 
The god of ocean marching stern before, 
With his huge trident wounds the trembling shore, 
Vast stones and piles from their foundation heaves , 
And whelms the smoky ruin in the waves. 



234 HOMERS ILIAD. 

Now smoothed with sand , and levell'd by the flood , 
No fragment tells where once the wonder stood i 
In their old bounds the rivers roll again , 
Shine 'twixt the hills, or wander o'er the plains. 

But this the gods in latter times perform ; 
As yet the bulwark stood , and brav'd the storm ; 
The strokes yet echo'd of contending powers ; 
War thunder'd at the gates, and blood distain'd the towers. 
Smote by the arm of Jove , with dire dismay , 
Close by their hollow ships the Grecians lay ; 
Hector's approach in every wind they hear , 
And Hector's fury every moment fear. 
He , like a whirlwind , toss'd the scattering throng, 
Mingled the troops , and drove the field along. 
So 'midst the dogs and hunter's daring bands , 
Fierce of his might , a boar or lion stands : 
Arm'd foes around a dreadful circle form , 
And hissing javelins rain, an iron storm : 
His powers untam'd their bold assault defy , 
And where he turns , the rout disperse , or die ; 
He foams , he glares , he bounds against them all , 
And if he falls , his courage makes him fall : 
With equal rage encompass'd Hector glows , 
Exhorts his armies, and the trenches shows. 
The panting steeds impatient fury breathe , 
But snort and tremble at the gulf beneath ; 
Just on the brink they neigh , and paw the ground , 
And the turf trembles , and the skies resound. 
Eager they view'd the prospect dark and deep , 
Vast was the leap , and headlong hung the steep ; 
The bottom bare , a formidable show ! 
And bristled thick with sharpen'd stakes below. 
The foot alone this strong defence could force, 
And try the pass impervious to the horse. 
This saw Polydamas; who , wisely brave , 
Restrain'd great Hector , and this counsel gave : 

« O thou! bold leader of the Trojan bands , 
And you , confederate chiefs from foreign lands ! 
What entrance here can cumbrous chariots find , 
The stakes beneath , the Grecian, walls behind l . 
No pass thro' those without a thousand wounds, 
No space for combat in yon narrow bounds. 



BOOR XII. 2.35 

Proud of the favours mighty Jove has shown ? 
On certain dangers we too rashly run : 
If 'tis his will our haughty foes to tame , 
Oh may this instant end the Grecian name ! 
Here , far from Argos, let their heroes fall , 
And one great day destroy and hury all ! 
But should they turn , and here oppress our train ? 
"What hopes , what methods of retreat remain ? 
Wedg'd in the trench , hy our own troops confus'd, 
In one promiscuous carnage crush'd and bruis'd , 
All Troy must perish, if their arms prevail , 
Nor shall a Trojan live to tell the tale. 
Hear then , ye warriors ! and ohey with speed ; 
Back from the trenches let your steeds be led ' 
Then all alighting , wedg'd in firm array , 
Proceed on foot , and Hector lead the way. 
So Greece shall stoop before our conquering power ; 
And this , if Jove consent , her fatal hour. » 

This counsel pleas'd : the godlike Hector sprung 
Swift from his seat ; his clanging armour rung. 
The chiefs example follow'd by his train , 
Each quits his car , and issues on the plain. 
By orders strict the charioteers enjoin'd, 
Compel the coursers to their ranks behind. 
The forces part in five distinguish'd bands , 
And all obey their several chief's commands. 
The best and bravest in the first cons^ ire ? 
Pant for the fight , and threat the fleet with fire : 
Great Hector glories in the van of these ? 
Polydamas , and brave Cebriones. 
Before the next the graceful Paris shines , 
And bold Alcathous , and Agenor joins. 
The sons of Priam with the third appear , 
Deiphobus , and Helenus the seer ; 
In arms with these the mighty Asius stood ? 
"Who drew from Hyrtacus his noble blood , 
And whom Arisba's yellow coursers bore , 
The coursers fed on Selle's winding shore. 
Antenor's sons the fourth battalion guide , 
And great iEneas , born on fountful Ide. 
Divine Sarpedon the last band obey'd, 
Whom Glaucus and Asteropaus aid , 



s36 homer's ILIAD. 

Next him , the bravest at their army's head , 
But he more brave than all the hosts he led. 

Now with compacted shields , in close array, 
The moving legions speed their headlong way ; 
Already in their hopes they fire the fleet, 
And see the Grecians gasping at their feet. 

While every Trojan thus, and every aid, 
Th' advice of wise Polydamas obey'd , 
Asius alone , confiding in his car , 
His vaunted coursers urg'd to meet the war. 
Unhappy hero ! and advis'd in vain! 
Those wheels returning ne'er shall mark the plain ; 
No more those coursers with triumphant joy 
Restore their master to the gates of Troy ! 
Black death attends behind the Grecian wall , 
And great Idonieneus shall boast thy fall ! 
Fierce to the left he drives , where from the plain , 
The flying Grecians strove their ships to gain ; 
Swift thro' the wall their horse and chariots past , 
The gates half open'd to receive the last. 
Thither , exulting in his force , he flies ; 
His following host with clamours rend the skies j 
To plunge the Grecians headlong in the main , 
Such their proud hopes , but all their hopes were vain ! 

To guard the gates , two mighty chiefs attend , 
Who from the Lapiths' warlike race descend ; 
This Polypcetes , great Perithous' heir, 
And that Leonteus , like the god of war. 
As two tall oaks , before the wall they rise ; 
Their roots in earth , their heads amidst the skies : 
Whose spreading arms , with leafy honours crown'd , 
Forbid the tempest , and protect the ground ; 
High on the hill appears their stately form , 
And their deep roots for ever brave the storm. 
So graceful these , and so the shock they stand 
Of raging Asius, and his furious band. 
Orestes , Acamas , in front appear, 
And Oenomaus and Thoon close the rear ; 
In vain their clamours shake the ambient fields , 
In vain around them beat their hollow shields; 
The fearless brothers on the Grecians call , 
.To guard their navies and defend the wall. 



book xii. a3<j 

£v'n when they saw Troy's sable troops impend , 
And Greece tumultuous from her towers descend , 
Forth from the portals rush'd th' intrepid pair , 
Oppos'd their breasts , and stood themselves the war. 
So two wild boars spring furious from their den , 
Rous'd with the cries of dogs , and voice of men : 
On every side the crackling trees they tear , 
And root the shrubs , and lay the forests bare ; 
They gnash their tusks , with fire their eye-balls roll, 
Till some wide wound lets out their mighty soul. 
Around their heads the whistling javelins sung, 
With sounding strokes their brazen targets rung ; 
Fierce was the fight , while yet the Grecian powers 
Maintain'd the walls , and mann'd the lofty towers ; 
To save their fleet , the last efforts they try , 
And stones and darts in mingled tempests fly. 

As when sharp Boreas blows abroad, and brings 
The dreary winter on his frozen wings ; 
Beneath the low-hung clouds the sheets of snow 
Descend , and whiten all the fields below : 
So fast the darts on either army pour, 
So down the rampiers rolls the rocky shower ; 
Heavy , and thick , resound the batter'd shields , 
And the deaf echo rattles round the fields. 

With shame repuls'd , with grief and fury driven , 
The frantic Asius thus accuses heaven : 
« In powers immortal who shall now believe ! 
Can those too flatter , and can Jove deceive l . 
What man could doubt but Troy's victorious power 
Should humble Greece , and this her fatal hour £ 
But like when wasps from hollow crannies drive , 
To guard the entrance of their common hive , 
Darkening the rock , while with unweary'd wings 
They strike th' assailants , and infix their stings ; 
A race deter rnin'd , that to death contend : 
So fierce these Greeks their last retreats defend. 
Gods ! shall two warriors only guard their gates , 
Repel an army , a id defraud the fates l . » 

These empty accents mingled with the wind , 
Nor mov'd great Jove's unalterable mind ; 
To godlike Hector and his matchless might 
Was ow'd the glory of the destin'd fight. 



a38 homer's iliab. 

like deeds of arms thro' all the forts were try'd , 

And all the gates sustained an equal tide. 

Thro' the long walls the stony showers were heard , 

The blaze of flames , the flash of arms appear'd. 

The spirit of a god my breast inspire , 

To raise each act to life , and sing with fire ! 

While Greece unconquer'd kept alive the war , 

Secure of death , confiding in despair ; 

And all her guardian gods in deep dismay , 

With unassisting arms deplor'd the day. 

Ev'n yet the dauntless Lapithae maintain 
The dreadful pass , and round them heap the slain. 
First Damasus , by Polypcetes' steel , 
Pierc'd thro' his helmet's brazen vizor fell ; 
The weapon drank the mingled brains and gore ; 
The warrior sinks , tremendous now no more ! 
Next Ormenus and Pylon yield their breath : 
Nor less Leonteus strows the field with death ; 
First thro' the belt Hippomachus he gor'd , 
Then sudden wav'd his unresisted sword *, 
Antiphates , as thro' the ranks he broke , 
The faulchion struck , and fate pursu'd the stroke , 
lamenus , Orestes , Menon , bled ; 
And round him rose a monument of dead. 

Meantime the bravest of the Trojan crew , 
Bold Hector and Polydamas pursue *, 
Fierce with impatience on the works to fall, 
And wrap in rolling flames the fleet and wall. 
These on the farther bank now stood and gaz'd. 
By heaven alarm'd , by prodigies amaz'd : 
A signal omen stopp'd the passing host , 
Their martial fury in their wonder lost. 
Jove's bird on sounding pinions beat the skies ; 
A bleeding serpent of enormous size 
His talons truss'd ; alive , and curling round , 
He stung the bird , whose throat receiv'd the wound : 
Mad with the smart , he drops the fatal prey, 
In airy circles wings his painful way, 
Floats on the winds, and rends the heavens with cries : 
Amidst the host the fallen serpent lies. 
They, pale with terror, mark its spires unroll'd, 
And Jove's portent with beating hearts behold. 



BOOK XII. 239 

Then first Polydatnas the silence broke , 
Long weigh'd the signal , and to Hector spoke, 
a How oft, my brother, thy reproach I bear, 
For words well meant , and sentiments sincere ! 
True to those counsels which I judge the best, 
I tell the faithful dictates of my breast. 
To speak his thought is every freeman's right , 
In peace and war , in council and in fight ; 
And all I move , deferring to thy sway, 
But tends to raise that power which I obey. 
Then hear my words , nor may my words be vain ; 
Seek not , this day, the Grecian ships to gain *, 
For sure to warn us Jove his omen sent , 
And thus my mind explains its clear event. 
The victor eagle , whose sinister flight 
Retards our host, and fills our hearts with fright, 
Dismiss'd his conquest in the middle skies , 
Allow'd to seize , but not possess the prize : 
Thus, tho' we gird with fires the Grecian fleet , 
Tho' these proud bulwarks. tumble at our feet, 
Toils unforeseen , and fiercer, are decreed ; 
More woes shall follow , and more heroes bleed. 
So bodes my soul , and bids me thus advise : 
For thus a skilful seer would read the skies. » 
To him then Hector wiih disdain return'd ; 
Fierce as he spoke , his eyes with fury burn'd ; 
« Are these the faithful counsels of thy tongue ? 
Thy will is partial , not thy reason wrong : 
Or if the purpose of thy heart thou vent , 
Sure heaven resumes the little sense it lent. 
What coward counsels would thy madness move, 
Against the word, the will reveal'd of Jove 2 . 
The leading sign , th' irrevocable nod , 
And happy thunders of the favouring god , 
These shall I slight l . and guide my wavering mind 
By wandering birds , that flit with every wind l . 
Ye vagrants of the sky! yolir wings extend , 
Or where the suns arise , or where descend j 
To right, to left , unheeded take your way, 
While I the dictates of high heaven obey. 
Without a sign his sword the brave man draws , 
And asks no omen but his country's cause. 



24o HOMER'S ILIAD. 

But why should thou suspect the war's success ? 

None fears it more , as none promotes it less : 

Tho' all our chiefs amid yon ships expire , 

Trust thy own cowardice t' escape their fire. 

Troy and her sons may find a general grave , 

But thou canst live , for thou canst he a slave. 

Yet should the fears that wary mind suggests , 

Spread their cold poison thro' our soldiers' breasts , 

My javelin can revenge so base a part, 

And free the soul that quivers in thy heart. » 

Furious he spoke , and rushing to the wall , 
Calls on his host ; his host obey the call ; 
With ardour follow where their leader flies ; 
Redoubling clamours thunder in the skies. 
Jove breathes a whirlwind from the hills of Ide , 
And drifts of dust the clouded navy hide : 
He fills the Greeks with terror and dismay, 
And gives great Hector the predestin'd day. 
Stroug in themselves, but stronger in his aid , 
Close to the works the rigid siege they laid. 
In vain the mounds and massy beams defend , 
While these they undermine , and those they rend ; 
Upheave the piles that prop the solid wall ; 
And heaps on heaps the smoky ruins fall. 
Greece on her rampart stands the fierce alarms ; 
The crowded bulwarks blaze with waving arms , 
Shield touching shield , a long refulgent row ; 
W 7 hence hissing darts , incessant , rain below. 
The bold Ajaxes fly from tower to tower, 
And rouze , with flame divine , the Grecian power. 
The generous impulse every Greek obeys ; 
Threats urge the fearful, and the valiant, praise. 

c< Fellows in arms ! whose deeds are known to fame , 
And you whose ardour hopes an equal name ! 
Since not alike endu'd with force or art , 
Behold a day when each may act his part! 
A day to fire the brave , and warm the cold , 
To gain new glories , or augment the old. 
Urge those who stand , and those who faint excite ; 
Drown Hector's vaunts in loud exhorts, of fight; 
Conquest, not safety, fill the thoughts of all ; 
Seek not your fleet , but sally from the wall : 



BOOK XII. &$4 

So Jove once more may drive their routed train , 
And Troy lie trembling in her walls again. » 

Their ardour kindles all the Grecian powers ; 
And now the stones descend in heavier showers. 
As when high Jove his sharp artillery forms , 
And opes his cloudy magazine of storms ; 
In winter's bleak uncomfortable reign , 
A snowy inundation hides the plain ; 
He stills the winds , and bids the skies to sleep \ 
Then pours the silent tempest , thick and deep ; 
And first the mountain tops are cover'd o'er , 
Then the green fields , and then the sandy shore ; 
Bent with the w T eight the nodding woods are seen , 
And one bright waste hides all the works of men ; 
The circling seas alone absorbing all , 
Drink the dissolving fleeces as they fall : 
So from each side increas'd the stony rain , 
And the white ruin rises o 1 er the plain. 

Thus godlike Hector and his troops contend 
To force the ramparts , and the gates to rend ; 
Nor Troy could conquer, nor the Greeks would yield . 
Till great Sarpedon tower'd amid the field ; 
For mighty Jove inspir'd with martial flame 
His m atchless son , and urg'd him on to fame. 
In arms he shines , conspicuous from afar, 
And bears aloft his ample shield in air ; 
Within whose orb the thick bull-hides were roll'd , 
Ponderous with brass , and bound with ductile gold : 
And while two pointed javelins arm his hands , 
Majestic moves along, and leads his Lycian bands. 

So press'd with hunger, from the mountain's brow 
Descends a lion on the flocks below ; 
So stalks the lordly savage o'er the plain , 
In sullen majesty, and stern disdain : 
In vain loud mastives bay him from afar, 
And shepherds gall him with an iron war ; 
Regardless , furious , he pursues his way ; 
He foams , he roars, he rends the panting prey. 

Resolv'd alike , divine Sarpedon glows 
With generous rage that drives him on the foes. 
He views the towers , and me litates their fall *, 
To sure destruction dooms th' aspiring wall; 

11 



243 homer's ILIAD. 

Then casting on his friend an ardent look , 
Fir'd with the thirst of glory, thus he spoke : 

« Why boast we , Glaucus ! our extended reign , 
Where Xanthus' streams enrich the Lycian plain , 
Our numerous herds that range the fruitful field, 
And hills where vines their purple harvest yield , 
Our foaming bowls with purer nectar crown'd , 
Our feasts enhanc'd with music's sprightly sound? 
Why on those shores are we with joy survey 'd, 
Adrair'd as heroes , and as gods obey'd? 
Unless great acts superior merit prove , 
And vindicate the bounteous powers above. 
'Tis ours , the dignity they give , to grace ; 
The first in valour, as the first in place. 
That when with wondering eyes our martial bands 
Behold our deeds transcending our commands , 
Such , they may cry, deserve the sovereign state , 
Whom those that envy, dare not imitate ! 
Could all our care elude the gloomy grave , 
W hich claims no less the fearful than the brave , 
For lust of fame I should not vainly dare 
In fighting fields, nor urge thy soul to war, 
But since , alas ! ignoble age must come , 
Disease , and death's inexorable doom *, 
The life which others pay, let us bestow , 
And give to fame what we to nature owe •, 
Brave tho' we fall , and honour' d if we live , 
Or let us glory gain , or glory give ! n 

He said : his words the listening chief inspire 
With equal warmth , and rouse the warrior's fire ; 
The troops pursue their leaders with delight , 
Rush to the foe , and claim the promis'd fight. 
Menestheus from on high the storm beheld , 
Threatening the fort , and blackening in the field : 
Around the walls he gaz'd , to view from far 
What aid appeared t' avert th' approaching war, 
And saw where Teucer with th' Ajaxes stood , 
Of fight insatiate, prodigal of blood. 
In vain he calls ; the din of helms and shields 
Rings to the skies , and echoes thro' the fields *, 
The brazen hinges fly, the walls resound , 
Heaven trembles, roar the mountains , thunders all the ground. 



BOOK XII. 243 

Then thus to Thoos : « Hence with speed ( he said) , 
And urge the bold Ajaxes to our aid ; 
Their strength, united , best may help to bear 
The bloody labours of the doubtful war ; 
Hither the Lycian princes bend their course , 
The best and bravest of the hostile force ; 
But if too fiercely there the foes contend , 
Let Telamon at least our towers defend , 
And Teucer haste , with his unerring bow , 
To share the danger, and repel the foe. » 

Swift ks the word , the herald speeds along 
The lofty ramparts thro' the martial throng ; 
And finds the heroes bath'd in sweat and gore , 
Oppos'd in combat on the dusty shore. 
« Ye valiant leaders of our warlike bands! 
Your aid ( said Thoos ) Peteus' son demands , 
Your strength , united , best may help to bear 
The bloody labours of the doubtful war : 
Thither the Lycian princes bend their course , 
The best and bravest of the hostile force ; 
But if too fiercely here the foes contend , 
At least , let Telamon those towers defend , 
And Teucer haste , with his unerring bow , 
To share the danger, and repel the foe. » 

Strait to the fort great Ajax turn'd his care, 
And thus bespoke his brothers of the war : 
« Now valiant Lycomede ! exert your might , 
And brave Oileus , prove your force in fight : 
To you I trust the fortune of the field , 
Till by this arm the foe shall be repell'd ; 
That done , expect me to complete the day w — 
Then, with his seven-fold shield, he strode away. 
With equal steps bold Teucer press'd the shore, 
Whose fatal bow the strong Pandion bore. 

High on the walls appear'd the Lycian powers , 
Like some black tempest gathering round toe towers ; 
The Greeks , oppress'd , their utmost force unite , 
Prepar'd to labour in th' unequal fight ; 
The war renews , mixM shouts and groans arise *, 
Tumultuous clamour mounts , and thickens in the skies. 
Fierce Ajax first th' advancing host invades , 
And sends the brave Epicles to the shades , 



244 HOMERS ILIAD. 

Sarpedon's friend ; across the warrior's way, 

Rent from the walls , a rocky fragment lay ; 

In modern ages not the strongest swain 

Could heave th' unwieldy burden from the plain. 

He pois'd , and swung it round ; then toss'd on high , 

It flew with force, and labour'd up the sky ; 

Full on the Lycian's helmet thundering down , 

The ponderous ruin crush'd his batter'd crown. 

As skilful divers from some airy steep , 

Headlong descend , and shoot into the deep : 

So falls Epicles ; then in groans expires , 

And , murmuring , to the shades the soul retires. 

While to the ramparts daring Glaucus drew , 
From Teucer's hand a winged arrow flew *, 
The bearded shaft the destin'd passage found , 
And on his naked arm inflicts a wound. 
The chief , who fear'd some foe's insulting boast 
Wight stop the progress of his warlike host , 
Conceai'd the wound , and leaping from his height 
Retir'd reluctant from th' uufinish'd fight. 
Divine Sarpedon with regret beheld 
Disabled Glaucus slowly quit the field ; 
His beating breast with generous ardour glows, 
He springs to fight , and flies upon the foes. 
Alcmaoa first was doom'd his force to feel ; 
Deep in his breast he plung'd the pointed steel ; 
Then from the yawning wound with fury tore 
The spear , pursu'd by gushing streams of gore ; 
Down sinks the warrior with a thundering sound , 
His brazen armour rings against the ground. 

Swift to the battlement the victor flies, 
Tugs with full force , and every nerve applies ; 
It shakes; the ponderous stones disjointed yield ; 
The rolling ruins smoke along the field. 
A mighty breach appears ; the walls lie bare j 
And, like £ deluge , rushes in the war. 
At once bold Teucer draws the twanging bow, 
And Ajax sends his javelin at the foe ; 
Fix'd in his belt the feather'd weapon stood , 
And thro' his buckler drove the trembling wood ; 
But Jove was present in the dire debate , 
To shield his offspring, and avert his fate. 



BOOK XII. 246 

The prince gave back , not meditating flight , 
But urging vengeance , and severer figlit •, 
Then rais'd with hopes , and fir'd with glory's charms , 
His fainting squadrons to new fury warms. 
« O where , ye Lycians ! is the strength you boast % 
Your former fame , and ancient virtue lost! 
The Lreach lies open, hut your chief in vain 
Attempts alone the guarded pass to gain : 
Unite , and soon that hostile fleet shall fall ; 
The force of powerful union conquers all. » 

This just rebuke inflam'd the Lycian crew ; 
They join, they thicken, and th' assault renew; 
TTnmov'd th' embody'd Greeks their fury dare , 
And fix'd support the weight of all the war ; 
INor could the Greeks repel the Lycian powers , 
INor the bold Lycians force the Grecian towers. 
As on the confines of adjoining grounds , 
Two stubborn swains with blows dispute their bounds ; 
They tug, they sweat ; but neither gain nor yield •, 
One foot, one inch , of the contended field: 
Thus obstinate to death , they fight , they fall ; 
Nor these can keep , nor those can win the wall. 
Their manly breasts are pierc'd with many a wound. 
Loud strokes are heard, and rattling arms resound , 
The copious slaughter covers all the shore , 
And the high ramparts drop with human gore. 

As when two scales are charg'd with doubtful loads , 
From side to side the trembling balance nods , 
While some laborious matron , just and poor , 
With nice exactness weighs her woolly store , 
Till pois'd aloft, the resting beam suspends 
Each equal weight ; nor this , nor that , descends : 
So stood the war , till Hector's matchless might, 
With fates prevailing , turn'd the scale of fight. 
Fierce as a whirlwind up the walls he flies , 
And fires his host with loud repeated cries : 
« Advance , ye Trojans ! lend your valiant hands , 
Haste to the fleet , and toss the blazing brands ! » 
They hear , they run ; and gathering at his call, 
Rise scaling engines, and ascend the wall : 
Around the works a wood of glittering spears 
Shoots up , and all the rising host appears. 



2^6 HOMER'S ILIAD. BOOK XII. 

A ponderous stone bold Hector heav'd to throw , 

Pointed above , and rough and gross below : 

Kot two strong men th' enormous weight could raise ? 

Such men as live in these degenerate days. 

Yet this as easy as a swain could bear 

The snowy fleece , he toss'd , and shobiriii-airj. 

For Jove ujrheld , and lighkn'd of its load 

Th' unwieldy rock , the labour of a god. 

Thus arm'd , before the folded gates he came, 

Of massy substance , and stupendous frame ; 

With iron bars and brazen hinges strong, 

On lefty beams of solid timber hung. 

Then thundering thro' the planks, with forceful sway . 

Drives the sharp rock : the solid beams give way. 

The fo'ds are shaUer'd *, from the crackling door 

Leap ibe resounding bars , the flying hinges roar. 

IVow rr.shing in , the furious chief appears 

Gloomy as night, and shakes two shining spears ; 

A dreadful gleam from his bright armour came , 

And from his eye-balls flash'd the living flame. 

He moves a god, resistless in his course , 

And seems a match for more than mortal force. 

Then pouring after , thro' the gaping space , 

A tide of Trojans flows , and fills the place : 

The Greeks behold, they tremble, and they fly ; 

The shore is heap'd with deaths and tumult rends the sky. 



THE ARGUMENT. 

The fourth battle continued , in which Neptune assists 
the Greeks. The acts of Idomeneus. 

Neptune, concerned for the loss of the Grecians, upon seeing 
the fortification forced by Hector, who had entered the gate 
near the station of the Ajaxes, assumes the shape of Cal- 
chas, and inspires those heroes to oppose him ; then , in the 
form of one of the generals , encourages the other Greeks 
who had retired to their vessels. The Ajaxes form their 
troops in a close phalanx , and put a stop to Hector and the 
Trojans. Several deeds of valour are performed ; Meriones, 
losing his spear in the encounter, repairs to seek another 
at the tent of Idomeneus : this occasions a conversation 
between these two warriors , who return together to the 
battle. Idomeneus signalixes his courage above the rest ; he 
kdls Othryoneas , Asius , and Alcathous : Deiphobus and 
AEneas march against him, and at length Idomeneus retires. 
Menelaus wounds Helenus, and kills Pisander. The Trojans 
are repulsed in the left wing : Hector still keeps his ground 
against the Ajaxes, till being galled by the Locrian slingers 
and archers, Polydamas advises to call a council of war : 
Hector approves his advice, but goes first to rally the Tro- 
jans 5 upbraids Paris, rejoins Polydamas, meets Ajax again, 
and renews the attack. 

The eight and twentieth day still continues. The scene is 
between the Grecian wall and the sea-shore. 



THE 

ILIA 

BOOK XIII. 



'hen now the thunderer, on the sea-beat coast, 



W 

Had fix'd great Hector and his conquering host : 

He left them to the fates , in bloody fray 

To toil and struggle thro' the well-fought day. 

Then turn'd to Thracia, from the field of fight, 

Those eyes that shed insufferable light , 

To where the Mysians proye their martial force , 

And hardy Thracians tame the savage horse ; 

And where the far-fam'd Hippemolgian strays } 

Renown'd for justice, and for length of days. 

Thrice happy race! that, innocent of blood, 

From milk , innoxious , &e^k their simple food i 

Jove sees delighted ; and avoids the scene 

Of guilty Troy , of arms , and dying men : 

No aid he deems to either host is given , 

While his high law suspends the powers of heaven 

Meantime the * monarch of the watery main 
Observ'd the thunderer , nor observ'd in vain. 
In Samothracia , on a mountain's brow , 
Whose waviug woods o'erhung the deeps below ? 
He sat ; and round him cast his azure eyes , 
Where Ida's misty tops confus'dly rise ; 
Below., fair Ilion's glittering spires were seen ; 
The crowded ships , and sable seas between, 
'.(here , from the crystal chambers of the main , 
Emerg'd, he sat , and mourn'd his Argives slain. 
At Jove iiicens'd, with grief and fury Sturig, 
Prone down the rocky steep he rush'd along ; 
Fierce as he past, the lofty mountains nod, J 

The forests shake ; earth trembled as he trod , \ 

And felt the footsteps of th' immortal god. \ 



2.5o HOMER'S ILIAD. 

From realm to realm three ample strides he took , 
And , at the fourth , the distant JEgx shook. 
Far in the hay his shining palace stands , 
Eternal frame ! not rais'd by mortal hands : 
This having reach' d , his brass-hoofM steeds he reins, 
Fleet as the winds , and deck'd with golden manes. 
Refulgent arms his mighty limbs infold , 
Immortal arms , of adamant and gold. 
He mounts the car, the golden scourge applies , 
He sits superior, and the chariot flies : 
His whirling wheels the glassy surface sweep ; 
Th' enormous monsters , rolling o'er the deep , 
Gambol around him on the watery way , 
And heavy whales in awkward measures play : 
The sea subsiding spreads a level plain , 
Exults, and owns the monarch of the main; 
The parting waves before his coursers fly : 
The w 7 ondering waters leave his axle dry. 
Deep in the liquid regions lies a cave , 
Between where Tenedos the surges lave , 
And rocky Imbrus breaks the rolling wave : 
There the great ruler of the azure round 
Stopt his swift chariot, and his steeds unbound , 
Fed with ambrosial herbage from his hand, 
And link'd their fetlocks with a golden band, 
Infrangible, immortal : there they stay. 
The father of the floods pursues his way ; 
Where, like a tempest , darkening heaven around , 
Or fiery deluge that devours the ground, 
Th' impatient Trojans, in a gloomy throng, 
Embattled roli'd, as Hector rush'd along. 
To the loud tumult and the barbarous cry, 
The heavens re-echo, and the shores repry; 
They vow destruction to the Grecian name , 
And in their hopes the fleets already flame. 
But Neptune , rising from the seas profound, 
The god whose earthquakes rock the solid ground, 
IV ow wears a mortal form ; like Calchas seen , 
Such his loud voice , and such his manly mifeii ) 
His shouts incessant every Greek inspire, 
But most th' Ajaxes, adding fire to fire. 



book xiii. a5i 

« 'Tis your's, O warriors! all our hopes to raise ; 
Oh recollect y our ancient worth and praise! 
'Tis your's to save us, if you cease to fear; 
Flight , more than shameful , is destructive here. 
On other works tho' Troy with fury fall , 
And pour her armies o'er our batter'd wall : 
There Greece has strength : but this, this part o'ertl. 
Her strengthwere vain-, I dread for you alone. 
Here Hector rages like the force of fire, 
Vaunts of his gods , and calls high Jove his sire. 
If yet some heavenly power your breast excite , 
Breathe in your hearts, and string your arms to light, 
Greece yet may live, her threaten'd fleet maintain, 
And Hector's force , and Jove's own aid , be vaiu. » 

Then with his sceptre that the deep controuls , 
He touch'd the chiefs , and steel'd their manly souls : 
Strength , not their own , the touch divine imparts . 
Prompts their light limbs , and swells their dating hearts. 
Then as a falcon from the rocky height, 
Her quarry seen , impetuous at the sight 
Forth springing instant , darts herself from high . 
Shoots on the wing, and skims along the sky: 
Such , and so swift , the power of ocean flew ; 
The wide horizon shut him from their view. 

Th r inspiring god , Oileus : active son 
Perceiv'd the first , and thus to Telamon : 

« Some god, my friend , some god. in human foj 
Favouring descends , and wills to stand the storm. 
Kot Calchas this, the venerable seer; 
Short as he turn'd , I saw the power appear : 
I mark'd his parting , and the steps he trod : 
His own bright evidence reveals a god. 
Ev'n now some energy divine I share , 
And seem to walk on wings , and tread in air! » 

— « With equal ardour ( Telamon returns ) 
My soul is kindled, and my bosom burns: 
New rising spirits all my force alarm, 
Lift each impatient limb, and brace my arm. 
This ready arm, unthinking, shakes t!;e dai i : 
The blood pours back , and for ti lies my heart : 
Singly, methiiiks, yon towering chief I meet, 
And stretch the dreadful Hector at inv feet. « 



202. HOMER'S ILIAD. 

Full of the god that urg'd their burning hi east t 
The heroes thus their mutual warmth cxprest. 
Neptune meanwhile the routed Greeks inspir'd , 
Who, breathless, pale, with length of labours tir'd. 
Pant in the ships : while Troy to conquest calls , 
And swarms victorious o'er their yielding walls : 
Trembling before th' impending storms they lie, 
While tears of rage stand burning in their eye. 
Greece sunk they thought, and this their fatal hour: 
But breathe new courage as they feel the power. 
Teucer and Leitus first his words excite : 
Then stern Peneleus rises to the fight : 
Thoas, Deipyrus , in arms renown'd , 
And Merion next, th' impulsive fury found * r 
Last Nestor's son the same bold ardour takes, 
While thus the god the martial fire awakes : 

« Oh lasting infamy , oh dire disgrace 
To chiefs of vigourous youth , and manly race ! 
I trusted in the gods, and you , to see 
Brave Greece victorious , and her navy free ; 
Ah no — the glorious combat you disclaim , 
And one black day clouds all her former fame. 
Heavens! what a prodigy these eyes survey, 
Unseen , unthought, till this amazing day { 
Fly we at length from Troy's oft conquer'd bands 1 
And falls our fleet by such iuglorious hands l . 
A rout undiscipliu'd, a straggling ir tin , 
Not born to glories of the dusty plain ; 
Like frighted fawns from hill to hill pursu'd , 
A prey to every savage of the wood : 
Shall these , so late , who trembled at your name , 
Invade your camps , involve your ships in fhimo l . 
A change so shameful, say , what cause has wrought \ 
The soldier's baseness, or the general's fault l . 
Fools ! will ye perish for your leader's vice 'i 
The purchase infamy, and life the price! 
: Tis net your cause , Achilles' injur'd fame : 
Another's is the crime , but vour's the shame. 
Grant that our chief offend thr;>' rage or lust , 
Must you be cowards, if your king's unjust? 
Prevent this evil , and your country save : 
Small thought retrieves the spirits of the brave. 



BOOK XIII. a53 

Think , and subdue ! on dastards dead to fame 
I waste no anger , for they feel no shame : 
But you , the pride , the flower of all our host , 
My heart weeps blood to see your glory lost ! 
Nor deem this day , this battle , all you lose ; 
A day more black, a fate more vile, ensues. 
Let each reflect , who prizes fame or breath, 
On endless infamy , on instant death. 
For lo ! the fated time , th' appointed shore ; 
Hark, the gates burst, the brazen barriers roar ! 
Impetuous Hector thunders at the wall ; 
The hour , the spot , to conquer , or to fall. >» 

These words the Grecians' fainting hearts inspire , 
And listening armies catch the godlike fire. 
Fix'd at his post was each bold Ajax found, 
With well-rang'd squadrons strongly circled round : 
So close their order, so dispos'd their fight , 
As Pallas 7 self might view with fix'd delight ; 
Or had the god of war inclin'd his eyes , 
The god of war had own'd a just surprize. 
A chosen phalanx , firm, resolv'd as fate, 
Descending Hector and his battle wait. 
An iron scene gleams dreadful o'er the fields, 
Armour in armour lock'd, and shields in shields ; 
Spears lean on spears , on targets targets throng , 
Helm stuck to helm , and man drove man along •, 
The floating plumes unnumber'd wave above , 
As when an earthquake stirs the nodding grove ; 
And levell'd at the skies with pointing rays , 
Their brandish'd lances at each motion blaze. 

Thus breathing death, in terrible array , 
The close- compacted legions urg'd their way : 
Fierce they drove on , impatient to destroy ; 
Troy ch'arg'd the first , and Htclor first, of Troy. 
As from some mountain's craggy forehead torn , 
A rock's round fragment flies, with fury born, 
Which from the stubborn stone a torrent rends , 
Precipitate the ponderous mass descends : 
From steep to steep the roiling ruin bounds ; 
At every shock the crackling wood resounds ; 
Still gathering force , it smokes ; and , urg'd amain , 
Whirls , leaps , and thunders down impetuous to the plain: 



254 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

There stops — So Hector. Their whole force he prov'd , 

Resistless when he rag'd , and when he stopt, unniov'd, 

On him the war is hent , the darts are shed, 
And all their faulchions wave around his head : 
Repuls'd he stands , nor from his stand retires : 
But with repeated shouts his army fires. 
« Trojans ! be firm : this arm shall make your way 
Thro' yon square body , and that black array : 
Stand , and my spear shall rout their scattering power. 
Strong as they seem , embattled like a tower. 
For he that Juno's heavenly bosom warms , 
The first of gods , this day inspires our arms. » 

He said , and rous'd the soul in every breast : 
TJrg'd with desire of fame , beyond the rest , 
Forth march'd Deiphobus ; but marching , held 
Before his wary steps his ample shield. 
Bold Merion aim'd a stroke , nor aim'd it wide, 
The glittering javelin pierc'd the tough bull-hide ; 
But pierc'd not through ; unfaithful to his hand , 
The point broke short, and sparkled in the sand. 
The Trojan warrior, touch'd with timely fear , 
On the rais'd orb to distance bore the spear : 
The Greek retreating niourn'd his frustrate blow , 
And curs'd the treacherous lance that spar'd a foe *, 
Then to the ships with surly speed he went , 
To seek a surer javelin in bis tent. 

Meanwhile with rising rage the battle glows , 
The tumult thickens , and the clamour grows. 
By Teucer's arm the warlike Imbrius bleeds , 
The son of Mentor , rich in generous steeds. 
Ere yej>to Troy the sons of Greece were led , 
In fair Pedaeus' verdant pastures bred , 
The youth had dwelt ; remote from war's alarms , 
And bless'd in bright Medesicaste's arms : 
This nymph, the fruit of Priam's ravish'd joy , 
Ally'd the warrior to the house of Troy. 
To Troy , when glory call'd his arms , he came , 
And ma'ch'd the bravest of her chiefs in fame j 
With Priam's sons , a guardian of the throne , 
He liv'd , belov'd, and honour'das his own. 
Him Teucer pierc'd between the throat and ear : 
He groans beneath the Telamonian spear. 



BOOK XIII. 255 

As from some far-seen mountain's airy crown , 
Subclu'd by sleet, a tall ash tumbles down, 
And soils its verdant tresses on the ground : 
So falls the youth *, his arms the fall resound. 
Then Teucer rushing to despoil the dead , 
From Hector's hand a shining javelin fled : 
He saw , and shunn'd the death ; the forceful dart 
Sung on, and pierc'd Amphimachus's heart, 
Cteatus' son, of Neptune's boasted line : 
Vain was his courage , and his race divine ! 
Prostrate he falls •, his clanging arms resound, 
And his broad buckler thunders on the ground. 
To seize his beamy helm the victor flies , 
And just had fasten'd on the dazzling prize , 
When Ajax' manly arm a javelin flung ; 
Full on the shield's round boss the weapon rung ; 
He felt the shock , nor more was doom'd to feel , 
Secure in mail , and sheath'd in shining steel. 
PiepuL'd he yields ; the victor Greeks obtain 
The spoils contested, and bear off the slain. 
Between the leaders of th* Athenian line , 
Stichius the brave , Menestheus the divine , 
Deplor'd Araphimachus . sad object ! lies ; 
Imbrius remains the tierce Ajaces' prize. 
As two grim lions bear across the lawn , 
Snatch'd from devouring hounds, a slaughler'd fawn , 
In their fell jaws high lifted thro' the wood , 
And sprinkling all the shrubs with drops of blood ; 
So these the chief : great Ajax from the dead 
Strips his bright arms , Oileus lops his head : 
Toss'd like a ball , and whirl'd in air away, 
At Hector's feet the goary visage lay. 

The god of ocean , hr'd with stern disdain , 
And pierc'd with sorrow for his * grandson slain , 
Inspires the Grecian hearts, confirms their hands, 
And breathes destruction on the Trojan bands. 
Swift as a whirlwind rushing to the fleet, 
He finds the lance-fam'd ldomen of Crete *, 
His pensive brow the generous care exprest 
With which a wounded soldier touch'd his breast, 

* Ampliimachua 



256 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

Wbom in the chance of war a javelin tore , 
And his sad comrades from the battle bore •, 
Him to the surgeons of the camp he sent : 
That office paid, he issu'd from his tent, 
Fierce for the light : to him the god begun, 
In Thoa's voice , Andraemon's valiant son , 
Who rul'd where Calydon's white rocks arise y 
And Pleuron's chalky cliffs emblaze the skies. 

« Where's now th' imperious vaunt, the daring beast 
Of Greece victorious, and proud Ilion lost ? » 

To whom the king : « On Greece no blame be thrown : 
Arms are her trade , and war is all her own. 
Her hardy heroes from the well -fought plains 
Nor fear withholds , nor shameful sloth detains ; 
*Tis heaven, alas! and Jove's all-powerful doom, 
That far, far distant from our native home 
Wills us to fall, inglorious ! Oh my friend ! 
Once foremost in the fight , still prone to lend 
Or arms , or counsels , now perform thy best , 
And what thou can'st not singly, urge the rest. » 

Thus he : and thus the god, -whose force can make 
The solid globe's eternal basis shake. 
« xlh ! never may he see his native land , 
But feed the vultures on this hateful strand , 
W ho seeks ignobly in his ships to stay, 
Nor dares to combat on this signal day ! 
For this , behold ! in horrid arms I shine , 
And urge thy soul to rival acts with mine ; 
Together let us battle on the plain ; 
Two , not the worst ; nor ev'n this succour vain •, 
Not vain the weakest, if their force unite; 
But ours, the bravest have confest in light. » 

This said , he rushes where the combat burns : 
Swift to his tent the Cretan king returns. 
From thence, two javelins glittering in his hand, 
And clad in arms that lightened all the strand, 
Fierce on the foe th' impetuous hero drove : 
Like lightning bursting from the arm of Jove . 
Which to pale man the wrath of heaven declares , 
Or terrifies th' offending world with wars ; 
In streaming sparkles, kindling all the skies, 
From pole to pole the trial of glory Hies: 



BOOK XIII. 25*7 

Thus his bright armour o'or the dazzled throng 
Gleara'd dreadful, as the monarch fla^h'd along. 

Him, near his tent, Meriones attends; 
Whom thus he questions : c< Ever best of friends ! 

say, in every art of battle skili'd, 

What holds thy courage from so brave a field? 

On some important message art thou bound 'I 

Or bleeds my friend by some unhappy wound? 

Inglorious here, my soul abhors to stay, 

And glows with prospects of lh' approaching day. » 

— « O prince ! ( Meriones replies , ) whose care 
Leads forth th' embattled sons of Crete to war ; 
This speaks my grief, this headless lance I wield ; 
The rest lies rooted in a Trojan shield. j> 

To whom the Cretan : « Enter, and receive 
The wanted weapons , those my tent can give ; 
Spears I have store , and Trojan lances all , 
That shed a lustre round th' illumin'd wail. 
Tho' I, disdainful of the distant war, 
Nor trust the dart, nor aim th' uncertain spear, 
Yet hand to hand I fight , and spoil the slain •, 
And thence these trophies , and these arms I gain. 
Enter, and see on heaps the helmets roli'd , 
And high-hung spears, and shields that flame with gold. » 

— c< Nor vain ( said Merion , ) are our martial toils ; 
We too can boast of no ignoble spoils. 

But those my ship contains , when distant far, 

1 fight conspicuous in the van of war, 
What need I more? If any Greek there be 
Who knows not Merion, I appeal to thee. » 

To this , Idomeneus : « The fields of fight 
Have prov'd thy valour, and unconquei'd might; 
And were some ambush for the foes desigr.'d , 
Ev'n there thy courage would not lag behind. 
In that sharp service , singled from the rest , 
The fear of each , or valour, stands confest. 
\or force, nor firmness, the pale coward shews; 
He shifts his place ; his colour comes an I goes; 
A dro; ping sweat creeps cold on every part ; 
Against his bosom beats his quivering heart ; 
Terror and death in his wild eye-balls stare ; f 

With chattering teeth he stands, and stiffening hair, <" 
And looks a bloodless image of Desnair ! 3 



s58 homer's ILIAD* 

Not so the brave — still dauntless , still the same , 
Unchanged his colour, and unmov'd his frame 5 
Compos'd his thought , determin'd is his eye , 
And fix'd his soul , to conquer or to die : 
If aught disturb the tenor of his breast, 
? Tis but the wish to strike before the rest. 
In such assays thy blameless worth is knowii , 
And every art of dangerous war thy own. 
By chance of fight whatever wounds you bore , 
Those wounds were glorious all , and all before ; 
Such as may teach , 'twas still thy brave delight 
T' oppose thy bosom where the foremost fight. 
But why, like infants, cold to honour's charms, 
Stand we to talk, when glory calls to arms? 
^Go — from my conquer'd spears the choicest take> 
And to their owners send them nobly back. » 

Swift as the word bold Merion snatch'd a spear, 
And breathing slaughter followed to the war. 
So Mars armipotent invades the plain , 
The wide destroyer of the race of man ; 
Terror, his best-lov'd son , attends his course , 
Arm'd with stern boldness , and enormous force 5 
The pride of haughty warriors to confound , 
And lay the strength of tyrants on the ground : 
From Thrace they fly, call'd to the dire alarms 
Of warring Phlegyans, and Ephyrian arms *, 
Invok'd by both , relentless they dispose 
To these glad conquest, murderous rout to those. 
So march the leaders of the Cretan train , 
And their bright arms shot horror o'er the plain. 

Then first spake Merion : « Shall we join the right , 
Or combat in the centre of the fight % 
Or to the left our wanted succour lend ? 
Hazard and fame all parts alike attend. » 

— « Not in the centre , Idomen reply'd , 
Our ablest chieftains the main battle guide *, 
Each godlike Ajax makes that post his care , 
And gallant Teucer deals destruction there : 
Skill'd , or with shafts to gall the distant field , 
Or bear close battle on the sounding shield. 
These can the rage of haughty Hector tame : 
Safe in their arms , the navy fears no flame *, 



BOOK XIII. 209 

Till Jove himself descends, his bolts to shed, 
And hurl the blazing ruin at our head. 
Great must he be, of more than human birth , 
Nor feed like mortals on the fruits of earth ; 
Him neither rocks can crush , nor steel can wound, 
Whom Ajax fells not on th' ensanguin'd ground, 
In standing fight he mates Achilles' force, 
Exceil'd alone in swiftness in the coarse. 
Then to the left our ready arms apply, 
And live with glory , or with glory die. » 

He said ; and Merion to th' appointed place , 
Fierce as the god of battles, urg'd his pace. 
Soon as the foe the shining chiefs beheld 
Rush like a fiery torrent o'er the field, 
Their force embody'd, in a tide they pour *, 
The rising combat sounds along the shore. 
As warring winds in Sinus' sultry reign , 
From different quarters sweep the sandy plain ; 
On every side the dusty whirlwinds rise, 
And the dry fields are lifted to the skies : 
Thus by despair, hope , rage , together driven , 
Met the black hosts , and meeting , darken' d heaven. 
All dreadful giar'd the iron face of war, 
Bristled with upright spears , that flash'd afar ; 
Dire was the gieam of breast-plates , helms and shields ; 
And polish'd arms emblaz'd the flaming fields : 
Tremendous scene ! that general horror gave , 
But touch'd with joy the bosoms of the brave. 

Saturn's great sons in fierce contention vy'd ? 
And crowds of heroes in their anger dy'd. ^^ 

The sire of earth and heaven , by Thetis won 
To crown with glory Peleus' godlike son , 
Will'd not destruction to the Grecian powers , 
But spar'd a while the destin'd Trojan towers : 
While Neptune rising from his azure main , 
Warr'd on the king of heaven with stern disdain, 
Andbreath'd revenge, and fir'd the Grecian train : 
Gods of one source , of one aethereal race , 
Ab'ke divine , and heaven their native place ; 
But Jove the greater, first-born of the skies, 
And more than men, or gods, supremely wise. 



260 HOMER^ ILIAD* 

For ihis, of Jove's superior might afraid, 

Neptune, in human form , conceal'd his aid. 

These powers inclose the Greek and Trojan train 

In war and discord's adamantine chain*, 

Indissc .-lubly strong , the fatal tie 

Is stretch'd on both , and heaps on heaps they die. 

Dreadful in arms, and grown in combats grey, 
The bold Idomeneus controuls the day. 
First by his hand Othryoneus was slain , 
Swell'd with false hopes , with mad ambition vain! 
Call'd by the voice of war to martial fame , 
From high Cabesus' distant walls he came ; 
Cassandra's love he sought , with boasts of power. 
And promis'd conquest was the proffer'd dower. 
The king consented , by his vaunts abus'd *, 
The king consented, but the fates refus'd*, 
Proud of himself, and of th' imagined bride, 
The field he measur'd with a larger stride. 
Him , as he stalk'd, the Cretan javelin found; 
Vain was his breast-plate to repel the wound : 
His dream of g'ory lost , he plung'd to hell ; 
The plains resounded as the boaster fell. 

The great Idomeneus bestrides the dead ; 
« And thus , he cries, behold thy promise sped I 
Such is the help thy arms to Ilion bring, 
And such the contract of the Phrygian king ! 
Our offers now , illustrious prince ! receive ; 
For such an aid what will not Argos give? 
To conquer Troy, with ours thy forces join , 
And count Atrides' fairest daughter thine. 
Meanxmie , on farther methods to advise , 
Come , follow to the fleet thy new allies : 
There hear what Greece has on her part to say. » 
He spoke , and dragg'd the goary corpse away. 

This Asius view'd , unable to contain, 
Before his chariot warring on the plain ; 
His valu'd coursers, to his 'squire consign'd , 
Impatient panted on his neck behind ; 
To vengeance rising with a sudden spring, 
He hop'd the conquest of the Cretan king. 
The wary Cretan , as his foe drew near, 
Full- on his throat discharged the forceful spear ; 



BOOK XIII. 2>6l 

Beneath the chin the point was seen to glide , 
And glitter'd , extant at the farther side. 
As when the mountain oak , or poplar tall , 
Or pine , fit mast for some great admiral , 
Groans to the oft heav'd ax , with many a wound , 
Then spreads a length of ruin o'er the ground : 
JSo sunk proud Asius in that deathful day, 
And stretch'd before his much-lov'd coursers lay : 
He grinds the dust , distain'd with streaming gore , 
And , fierce in death, lies foaming on the shore. 
Depriv'd of motion, stiff with stupid fear, 
Stands all aghast his trembling charioteer, 
Nor shuns the foe , nor turns the steeds away, 
But falls transfix'd , an unresisting prey *, 
Pierc'd by Antilochus , he pants beneath 
The stately car, and labours out his breath. _ 
Thus Asius' steeds , their mighty master gone, 
Remain the prize of Nestor's youthful son. 

Stabb'd at the sight , Deiphobus drew nigh , 
And made , with force , the vengeful weapon fly. 
The Cretan saw ; and , stooping, caus'd to glance 
From his slope shield, the disappointed lance. 
Beneath the spacious targe , a blazing round , 
Thick with bull-hides , with brazen orbits bound , 
On his rais'd arm by two strong braces stay'd, 
He lay collected in defensive shade. 
O'er his safe head the javelin idly sung, 
And on the tinkling verge more faintly rung. 
Ev'n then , the spear the vigourous arm confest y 
And pierc'd , obliquely, king Hypsenor's breast : 
"Warm'd in his liver, to the ground it bore 
Jf he chief, his people's guardian , now no more ! 
« Not unattended , ( the proud Trojan cries , ) 
Nor unreveng'd, lamented Asius lies : 
For thee, tho' hell's black portals stand display 'd, 
This mate shall joy thy melancholy shade, » 

Heart-piercing anguish, at this haughty boast , 
Touch'd every Greek , but Nestor's son the most. 
Griev'd as he was , his pious arms attend , 
And his broad buckler shields his slaughter'd friend ; 
Till sad Mechistheus and Alastor bore 
His honour'd body to the tented shore. 



»6a homer's iLiift. 

Nor yet from fight Idomeneus withdraws ; 
Resolv'd to perish in his country's cause , 
Or find some foe , whom heaven and he shall doom 
To wail his fate in death's eternal gloom. 
He sees Alcathous in the front aspire : 
Great iEsyetes was the hero's sire ; 
His spouse , Hippodame , divinely fair, 
Anchises' eldest hope , and darling care ; 
"Who charm'd her parents and her husband's heart , 
With beauty, sense , and every work of art : 
He once , of Ilion's youth , the loveliest boy, 
The fairest she of all the fair of Troy. 
By Neptune now the helpless hero dies , 
Who covers with a cloud those beauteous eyes, 
And fetters every limb : yet bent to meet 
His fate he stands; nor shims the lance of Crete. 
Fixt as some column , or deep-rooted oak , 
While the winds sleep, his breast receiv'd the stroke. 
Before the ponderous stroke his corslet yields , 
Long us'd to ward the death in fighting fields. 
The riven armour sends a jarring sound : i 

His labouring heart heaves with so strong a bound , ^ 

The long lance shakes , and vibrates in the wound : S 

Fast flowing from its source , as prone he lay, 
Life's purple tide impetuous gush'd away. 

Then Idomen, insulting o'er the slain : 
« Behold , Deiphobus ! nor vaunt in vain : 
See! on one Greek three Trojan ghosts attend, 
This my third victim , to the shades I send. 
Approaching now , thy boasted might approve, 
And try the prowess of the seed of Jove. 
From Jove , enamour'd on a mortal dame , 
Great Minos , guardian of his country , came : 
Deucalion, blameless prince ! was Mino's heir : 
His first-born I , the third from Jupiter ; 
O'er spacious Crete , and her bold sons I reign ,. 
And thence my ships transport me thro' the main : 
Lord of a host , o'er all my host I shine , 
A scourge to thee , thy father, and thy line. » 

The Trojan heard; uncertain, or to meet 
Alone , with venturous arms , the king of Crete : 



BOOK XIII. &63 

Or seek auxiliar force ; at length decreed 
To call some hero to partake the deed. 
Forthwith iEneas rises to his thought ; 
For him , in Troy's remotest lines , he sought , 
Where he , incens'd at partial Priam , stands , 
And sees superior posts in meaner hands. 
To him , ambitious of so great an aid , 
The hold Deiphobus approach' d and said : 

« Now , Trojan prince , employ thy pious arms , 
If e'er thy bosom felt fair honour's charms. 
Alcathous dies , thy brother and thy friend ! 
Come , and the warrior's lov'd remains defend. 
Beneath his cares thy early youth was train'd , 
One table fed you , and one roof contain'd. 
This deed to fierce Idomeneus we owe ; 
Haste , and revenge it on th' insulting foe. 

iEneas heard, and for a space resign'd 
To tender pity all his manly mind ; 
Then rising in his rage he burns to fight; 
The Greek awaits him , with collected might. 
As the fell boar on some rough mountain's head , 
Arm'd with wild terrors , and to slaughter bred , 
When the loud rustics rise, and shout from far, 
Attends the tumult, and expects the war; 
O'er his bent back the bristly horrors rise , 
Fires stream in lightning from his sanguine eyes *, 
His foaming tusks both dogs and men engage , 
But most his hunters rouze his mighty rage : 
So stood Idomeneus , his javelin shook , 
And met the Trojan with a lowering look ; 
Autilochus , Deipyrus were near, 
The youthful offspring of the god of war ; 
Merion , and Aphareus , in field renown'd : 
To these the warrior sent his voice around : 
« Fellows in arms ! your timely aid unite ; 
Lo, great Mneas rushes to the fight; 
Sprung from a god , and more than mortal bold ; 
He fresh in youth , and I in arms grown old. 
Else should this hand , this hour decide the strife , 
The great dispute , of glory, or of life, » 

He spoke, and all as with one soul obey'd ; 
Their lifted bucklers cast a dreadful shade 



s64 homer's ILI4». 

Around the chief. iEneas too demands 

Th' assisting forces of his native hands : 

Paris , Deiphohus , Ajenorjoin, 

Co aids and captains of the Trojan line *, 

In order follow all th' embody 'd train ; 

Like Ida's flocks proceeding o'er the plain ; 

Before his fleecy care , erect and hold , 

Stalks the proud ram , the father of the fold : 

With joy the swain surveys them , as he leads 

To the cool fountains, thro' the well-known meads. 

So joys iEneas , as his native hand 

Moves on in rank , and stretches o'er the land. 

Round dead Alcathous now the battle rose; 
On every side the steely circle grows : 
]\ow batter'd breast-plates and hack'd helmets ring , 
And o'er their heads unheaded javelins sing. 
Above the rest , two towering chiefs appear, 
There great Idomeneus , iEneas here. 
Like gods of war, dispensing fate, they stood , 
And burn'd to drench the ground with mutual blood. 
The Trojan weapon whizz'd along in air, 
The Cretan saw , and shun'd the brazen spear : 
Sent from an arm so strong, the missive wood 
Stuck deep in earth , and quiver'd where it stood. 
But Oenomas receiv'd the Cretan stroke , 
The forceful spear his hollow corslet broke ; 
It ripp'd his belly with a ghastly wound , 
And roll'd the smoking entrails to the ground. 
Stretch'd on the plain , he sobs away his breath , 
And furious grasps the bloody dust in death. 
The victor from his breast the weapon tears ; 
His spoils he could not, for the shower of spears, 
Tho' now unfit an active war to wage , 
Heavy with cumberous arms , stiff with cold age . 
His listless limbs unable for the course ; 
In standing fight he yet maintains his force ; 
Till faint with labour, and by foes repell'd, 
His tir'd , slow steps , he drags from off the field. 

Deiphohus beheld him as he past , 
And, fir'd with hate, a parting javelin cast : 
The javelin err'd, but held its course along, 
And pierc'd Ascalaphus, the brave and young a 



BOOK XIII. s65 

The son of Mars fell gasping on the ground , 
And gnash'd the dust all bloody with his wound. 

Nor knew the furious father of his fall *, 
High thron'd amidst the great Olympian hall f 
On golden clouds th' immortal synod sate ; 
Detain'd from bloody war by Jove and fate ; 

Now , where in dust the breathless hero lay, 
For slain Ascalaphus commenc'd the fray. 
Deiphobus-to seize his helmet flies, 
And from his temples rends the glittering prize m v 
Valiant as Mars , Meriones drew near, 
And on his loaded arm discharg'd his spear ; 
He drops the weight , disabled with the pain ; 
The hollow helmet rings against the plain. 
Swift as a vulture leaping on his prey, 
From his torn arm the Grecian rent away 
The reeking javelin , and rejoin'd his friends, 
His wounded brother good Polites tends ; 
Around his waist his pious arms he threw, 
And from the rage of combat gently drew ; 
Him his swift coursers , on his splendid car, 
Rapt from the lesseuing thunder of the war ; 
To Troy they drove him , groaning from the shore , 
And sprinkling, as he pass'd, the sands with gore. 

Meanwhile fresh slaughter bathes the sanguine ground, 
Heaps fall on heaps , and heaven and earth resound. 
Bold Aphareus by great yEneas bled , 
As tow'rd the chief he turn'd his daring head , 
He pierc'd his throat ; the bending head , deprest 
Beneath his helmet , nods upon his breast : 
His shield reversed o'er the fail'n warrior lies , 
And everlasting slumber seals his eyes. 
Antilochus , as Thoon turn'd him round , 
Transpierc'd his back with a dishonest wound : 
The hollow vein that to the neck extends , 
Along the chine, his eager javelin rends: 
Supine he falls , and to his social train 
Spreads his imploring arms , but spreads in vain. 
Th' exulting victor, leaping where he lay, 
From his broad shoulders tore the spoils away, 
His time observed ; for, clos'd by foes around , 
On all sides thick , the peals of arms resound. 

12 



2>66 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

His shield , emboss'd , the ringing storm sustains. 

But he impervious and untouch' d remains. 

Great Neptune's care preserv'd from hostile rage 

This youth , the joy of Nestor's glorious age. 

In arms intrepid , with the first he fought , 

Fac'd every foe , and every danger sought. 

His winged lance , resistless as the wind , 

Obeys each motion of the master's mind, 

Restless it flies , impatient to be free , 

And meditates the distant enemy. 

The son of Asius , Adamas , drew near, 

And struck his target with the brazen spear, 

Fierce in his front ; but Neptune wards the blow , 

And blunts the javelin of th' eluded foe. 

In the broad buckler half the weapon stood ; 

Splinter'd on earth flew half the broken wood. 

Disarm'd , he mingled in the Trojan crew ; 

But Merion's spear o'ertook him as he flew , 

Deep in the belly's rim an entrance found , 

"Where sharp the pang , and mortal is the wound ; 

Bending he fell , and , doubled to the ground , 

Lay panting. Thus an ox , in fetters ty'd , 

While death's strong pangs distend his labouring side , 

His bulk enormous on the field displays ; 

His heaving heart beats thick, as ebbing life decays. 

The spear, the conqueror from his body drew , 

And death's dim shadows swam before his view. 

Next brave Deipyrus in dust was laid : 

King Helenus wav'd high the Thracian blade , 

And smote his temples with an arm so strong , 

The helm fell off, and roll'd amid the throng : 

There , for some luckier Greek it rests a prize , 

For dark in death the godlike owner lies ! 

With raging grief great Menelaus burns , 

And fraught with vengeance , to the victor turns ; 

That shook the ponderous lance , in act to throw , 

And this stood adverse with the bended bow : 

Full on his breast the Trojan arrow fell , 

But harmless bounded from the plated steel. 

As on some ample barn's well-harden'd floor, 

The winds collected at each open door, 



BOOK XIII. 267 

While the Lroad fan with force is whirl'd around , 

Light leaps the golden grain , resulting from the ground : 

So from the steel that guards Abides! heart , 

Repell'd to distance flies the bounding dart. 

Atrides , watchful of th' unwary foe , 

Pierc'd with his lance the hand that grasp 'd the bow , 

And nail'd it to the yew : the wounded hand 

Trail'd the long lance that mark'd with blood the sand; 

But good Agenor gently from the wound 

The spear solicits, and the bandage bound; 

A. sling's soft wool , snatch'd from a soldier's side , 

At once the tent and ligature supply'd. 

Behold ! Pisander, urg'd by fate's decree , 
Springs thro' the ranks to fall , and fall by thee , 
Great Menelaus ! to enhance thy fame : 
High-towering in the front, the warrior came. 
First the sharp lance was by Atrides thrown, 
The lance far distant by the wiuds was blown. 
Nor pierc'd Pisander thro' Atrides' shield ; 
Pisander's spear fell shiver'd on the field. 
Not so discourag'd, to the future blind, 
Vain dreams of conquest swell his haughty mind ; 
Dauntless he rushes where the Spartan lord 
Like lightning brandish'd his far -beaming sword. 
His left arm high oppos'd the shining shield ; 
His right , beneath , the cover'd pole-ax held ; 
An olive's cloudy grain the handle made , 
Distinct with studs ; and brazen was the blade ; 
This on the helm discharg'd a noble blow , 
The plume dropp'd nodding to the plain below , 
Shorn from the crest. Atrides wav'd his steel : 
Deep thro' his front the weighty faulchion fell ; 
The crashing bones before its force gave way ; 
In dust and blood the groaning hero lay ; 
Forc'd from their ghastly orbs , and spouting gore, 
The clotted eye-balls tumble on the shore. 
The fierce Atrides spurn'd him as he bled , 
Tore off his arms, and, loud- exulting, said: 

« Thus , Trojans , thus , at length be taught to fear; 
O race perfidious , who delight in war ! 
Already noble deeds ye have perform'd , 
A princess rap'd transcends a navy stornVd: 



268 homer's ILIAD. 

In such bold feats your impious might approve , 

Without th' assistance or the fear of Jove ; 

The violated rites , the ravish'd dame , 

Our heroes slaughler'd , and our ships on flame , 

Crimes heap'd on crimes, shall bend your glory down, 

And whelm in ruins yon flagitious town. 

O thou, great father ! Lord of earth and skies, 

Above the thought of man , supremely wise ! 

If from thy hand the fates of mortals flow , 

From whence this favour to an impious foe 1 

A godless crew, abandoned and unjust, 

Still breathing rapine , violence , and lust ! 

The best of things , beyond their measure cloy ; 

Sleep's balmy blessing, love's endearing joy; 

The feast , the dance ; whate'er mankind desire , 

Ev'n the sweet charms of sacred numbers tire. 

But Troy for ever reaps a dire delight 

In thirst of slaughter, and in lust of fight. » 

This said , he seiz'd , while yet the carcase heav'd , 
The bloody armour, which his train receiv'd : 
Then sudden mix'd among the warring crew, 
And the bold son of Pylaemenes slew. 
Harpalion had thro' Asia travell'd far, 
Following his martial father to the war ; 
Thro' filial love he left his native shore , 
Kever, ah never, to behold it more ! 
His unsuccessful spear he chanc'd to fling 
Against the target of the Spartan king; 
Thus of his lance disarm'd, from death he flies ^ 
And turns around his apprehensive eyes. 
Him, thro' the hip transpiercing as he fled, 
The shaft of Merion mingled with the dead. 
Beneath the bone the glancing point descends , 
And driving down , the swelling bladder rends ; 
Sunk in his sad companion's arms he lay, 
And in short pantings sobb'd his soul away ; 
Like some vile worm extended on the ground, 
While life's red torrent gush'd from out the wound. 

Him on his car the Paphlagonian train 
In slow procession bore from off the plain. 
The pensive father, father now no more I 
Attends the mournful pomp along the shore , 



BOOK XIII, 269 

And unavailing tears profusely shed , 
And, unreveng'd, deplor'd his offspring dead. 

Paris from far the moving sight heheld, 
With pity soften'd, and with fury swell'd : 
His honour'd host , a youth of matchless grace , 
And lov'd of all the PaphJagonian race ! 
With his full strength he hent his angry how , 
And wing'd the feather'd vengeance at the foe. 
A chief there was , the hrave Euchenor nam'd , 
For riches much , and more for virtue fam'd , 
Who held his seat in Corinth's stately town ; 
Polydus' son , a seer of old renown. 
Oft had the father told his early doom , 
By arms abroad , or slow disease at home. 
He climb'd his vessel , prodigal of breath, 
And chose the certain , glorious path to death. 
Beneath his ear the pointed arrow went ; 
The soul came issuing at the narrow vent : 
His limbs, unnerv'd, dropp'd useless on the ground, 
And everlasting darkness shades him round. 

Nor knew great Hector how his legions yield , 
Wrapt in the cloud and tumult of the field ; 
Wide on the left the force of Greece commands, 
And conquest hovers o'er th' Achaian bands ; \ 

With such a tide superior virtue sway'd , 
And he * that shakes the solid earth gave aid. 
But in the centre Hector fix'd remain'd, 
Where first the gates were forc'd , and bulwarks gain'd ; 
There, on the margin of the hoary deep , 
Their naval station where th' Ajaces keep, 
And where low walls confine the beating tides, 
Whose humble barrier scarce the foes divides ; 
Where late in fight both foot and horse engag'd , 
And all the thunder of the battle rag'd : 
There join'd , the whole Boeotian strength remain 
The proud lonians with their sweeping trains . 
Locrians and Pthians , and th' Ep«ean force ; 
But , join'd, repel not Hectors fiery conrsv 
The flower of Athens, Stichius , Phidas led, 
Bias and great ?denestheus at their head, 

3*r Neptune 



2^0 HOMERS ILTAB* 

Meges the strong th' Epeian bands controuPd , 
And Dracius prudent , and Amphion bold; 
The Pthians Medon , fam'd for martial might , 
And brave Podarces , active in the fight. 
This drew from Phylacus his noble line; 
Iphiclus' son : and that , Oileus , thine : 
Youn Ajax* brother, by a stol'n embrace; 
He dwelt far distant from his native place, 
By his fierce stopdame from his father's reign 
Expell'd and exil'd for her brother slain. 
These rule the Pthians , and their arms employ , 
Mixt with Boeotians , on the shores of Troy. 

Wow side by side, with like unweary'd care, 
Each Ajax labour' d thro' the field of war. 
So when two lordly bulls, with equal toil, 
Force the bright plowshare thro' the fallow soil , 
Join'd to one yoke , tbe stubborn earth they tear. 
And trace large furrows with the shining share ; 
O'er their huge limbs the foam descends in snow , 
And streams of sweat down their sour foreheads flow. 
A train of heroes follow'd thro 7 the field , 
Who bore by turns great Ajax* sevenfold shield ; 
Whene'er he breath'd , remissive of his might , 
Tir'd with th' incessant slaughters of the fight. 
JNo following troops his brave associate grace , 
In close engagement an unpractic'd race , 
The Locrian squadrons nor the javelin wield , 
3Nor bear the helm, nor lift the moony shield; 
But skiil'd from far the flying shaft to wing , 
Or whirl the sounding pebble from the sling ; 
Dexterous with these they aim a certain wound, 
Or fell the distant warrior to the ground. 
Thus in the van the Telamonian train 
Throng'd in bright arms , a pressing fight maintain : 
Ear in the rear the Locrian archers lie , 
Thick stones and arrows intercept the sky, 
The mingled tempest on the foes they pour, 
Troy's scattering orders open to the show T er. 

3Now T had the Greeks eternal fame acquir'd , 
And the gall'd Ilians to their walls retir 1 d ; 
But sage Polydamas , discreetly brave , 
Address'd great Hector, and this counsel gaye 1 



book xin. 271 

TtTW great in all , thou seem'st averse to lend 
Impartial audience to a faithful friend : 
To gods and men thy matchless worth is known , 
And every art of glorious war thy own *, 
But in cool thought and counsel to excel , 
How widely differs this from warring well ! 
Content with what the bounteous gods have given, 
Seek not alone t' engross the gifts of heaven. 
To some the powers of bloody war belong, 
To some sweet music, and the charm of song ; 
To few , and wonderous few , has Jove assign' d 
A wise , extensive , all -considering mind : 
Their guardian these , the nations round confess , 
And towns and empires for their safety bless. 
If heaven have lodg'd this virtue in my breast , 
Attend,, O Hector, what I judge the best. 
See , as thou mov'st on dangers , dangers spread , 
And war's whole fury burns around thy head. 
Behold ! distress'd within yon hostile wall , 
How many Trojans yield , disperse , or fall ! 
What troops , out-number'd , scarce the war maintain I 
And what brave heroes at the ships lie slain ! 
Here cease thy fury ; and the chiefs and kings, 
Convok'd to council, weigh the sum of things. 
Whether, the gods succeeding our desires , 
To yon tall ships to bear the Trojan fires } 
Or quit the fleet, and pass unhurt away, 
Contented with the conquest of the day. 
I fear, I fear, lest Greece , not yet undone , 
Pay the large debt of last revolving sun ; 
Achilles , great Achilles , yet remains 
On yonder decks , and yet o'erlooks the plains ! i> 

The counsel pleas'd ; and Hector, with a bound , ) 

Leap'd from his chariot on the trembling ground ; > 

Swift as he leap'd , his clanging arms resound. ) 

«To guard this post ( he cry'd , ) thy art employ, 
And here detain the scatter'd youth of Troy ; 
Where yonder heroes faint , I bend my way, 
And hasten back to end the doubtful day. » 

This said , the towering chief prepares to go , ) 

Shakes his white plumes that to the breezes flow, > 

And seems a moving mountain topt with snow. } 



27a HOMER'S ILIAD. 

Thro' all his host , inspiring force , he flies , 

And bids anew the martial thunder rise. 

To Panthus' son , at Hector's high command , 

Haste the bold leaders of the Trojan band : 

But round the battlements , and round the plain , 

For many a chief he look'd , but look'd in vain ; 

Deiphobus , nor Helenus the seer , 

Nor Asius' son , nor Asius' self appear , 

For these were pierc'd with many a ghastly wound 9 

Some cold in death , some groaning on the ground ; 

Some low in dust a mournful object lay; 

High on the wall some breath' d their souls away. 

Far on the left , amid the throng , he found , 
Cheering the troops , and dealing deaths around , 
The graceful Paris •, whom , with fury mov'd , 
Opprobrious , thus , th' impatient chief reprov'd *, 

« Ill-fated Paris ! slave to womankind , 
As smooth of face as fraudulent of mind ! 
"Where is Deiphobus , where Asius gone ? 
The godlike father , and th' intrepid son % 
The force of Helenus , dispensing fate , 
And greath Othryoneus , so fear'd of late 1 
Black fate hangs o'er thee from th' avenging gods > 
Imperial Troy from her foundations nods ; 
Whelm'd in thy country's ruins shalt thou fall , 
And one devouring vengeance swallow all. » 

"When Paris thus : « My brother and my friend f 
Thy warm impatience makes thy tongue offend. 
In other battles I deserv'd thy blame , 
Tho' then not deedless , nor unknown to fame : 
But since yon rampart by thy arms lay low , 
I scatter'd slaughter from my fatal bow. 
The chiefs you seek on yonder shore lie slain ; 
Of all those heroes , two alone remain •, 
Deiphobus , and Helenus the seer : 
Each now disabled by a hostile spear. 
Go then , successful , where thy soul inspires ; 
This heart and hand shall second all thy fires : 
"What with this arm I can, prepare to know , 
Till death for death be paid , and blow for blow. 
But 'tis not ours with forces not our own 
To combat ; strength is of the gods alone. » 



fiCOR XIII. 2^3 

These words Ihe hero's angry mind assuage : 

Then fierce they mingle where the thickest rage. 

Around Polydamas , distain'd with hlood , 

Cebrion , Phalces , stern Orthseus stood , 

Palmus , with Polypeetes the divine , 

And two bold brothers of Hippotion's line , 

Who reach' d fair Ilion, from Ascania far , 

The former day ; the next engag'd in war. 

As when from gloomy clouds a whirlwind springs , 

That bears Jove's thunder on its dreadful wings ; 

Wide o'er the blasted fields the tempest sweeps , 

Then , gather'd , settles on the hoary deeps ; 

Th' afflicted deeps tumultuous mix and roar ; f 

The waves behind impel the waves before , 

Wide rolling , foaming high , and tumbling to the shore : ^ 

Thus rank on rank the thick battalions throng, 

Chief urg'd on chief , and man drove man along. 

Far o'er the plains , in dreadful order bright , 

The brazen arms reflect a beamy light : 

Full in the blazing van great Hector shin'd , 

Like Mars conimission'd to confound mankind 

Before him flaming , his enormous shield , 

Like the broad sun, illumin'd all the field; 

His nodding helm emits a streamy ray , 

His piercing eyes thro' all the battle stray. 

And , while beneath his targe he flash'd along » 

Shot terrors round, that wither'd ev'n the strong. 
Thus stalk'd he , dreadful : death was in his look j 

Whole nations fear'd ; but not an Argive shook. 

The towering Ajax, with an ample stride, 

Advanc'd the first , and thus the chief defy 'd : 
« Hector! come on , thy empty threats forbear 5 

Tis not thy arm , 'tis thundering Jove we fear : 

The skill of war to us not idly given , 

Lo ! Greece is humbled , not by Troy , but heaven. 

Vain are the hopes that haughty mind imparls 

To force our fleet ; the Greeks have hands and hearts. 

Long ere in flames our lofty navy fall , 

Your boasted city and your god -built wall 

Shall sink beneath us , smoking on the ground , 

And spread a long , unmeasur'd ruin round. 



274 HOMER'S ILIAD. BOOK XIII. 

The time shall come , when chas'd along the plain , 
Ev'n thou shalt call on Jove , and call in vain : 
Ev*n thou shalt wish , to aid thy desperate course -. 
The wings of falcons for thy flying horse ; 
Shalt run , forgetful of a warrior's fame , 
While clouds of friendly dust conceal thy shame. » 

As thus he spoke , behold in open view , 
On sounding wings a dexter eagle flew. 
To Jove's glad omen all the Grecians rise , 
And hail , with shouts , his progress thro' the skies : 
Far-echoing clamours hound from side to side : 
They ceas'd ; and thus the chief of Troy reply'd: 

« From whence this menace , this insulting strain? 
Enormous boaster ! doom'd to vaunt in vain. 
So may the gods on Hector life bestow , 
]Not that short life which mortals lead below , 
But such as those of Jove's high lineage born, 
The blue-ey'd maid , or he that gilds the morn . 
As this decisive day shall end the fame 
Of Greece , and Argos be no more a name. 
And thou , imperious ! if thy madness wait 
The lance of Hector , thou shalt meet thy fate \ 
That giant corpse, extended on the shore, 
Shall largely feed the fowls with fat and gore. » 

He said , and like a lion stalk'd along : 
"With shouts incessant earth and ocean rung, 
Sent from his following host ,t the Grecian train 
"With answering thunders fill'd the echoing plain ; 
A shout that tore heaven's concave, and above 
Shook the fix'd splendors of the throne of Jove* 



THE ARGUMENT. 

Juno deceives Jupiter by the girdle of Venus. 

NESTOR, sitting at the table with Machaon, is alarmed -with 
the increasing clamour of the war, and hastens to Aga- 
memnon: on his way, he meets that prince with Dioined and 
Ulysses, whom he informs of the extremity of the danger. 
Agamemnon proposes to make their escape by night , which 
Ulysses withstands \ to which Diomed adds his advice, that, 
wounded as they were , they should go forth and encourage 
the army with their presence ; which advice is pursued. 
Juno , seeing the partiality of Jupiter to the Trojans, forms a 
design to over-reach him ; she sets off her charms with the 
utmost care , and , the more surely to enchant him , obtains 
the magic girdle of Venus. She then applies herself to the 
God of sleep , and , with some difficulty, persuades him to 
seal the eyes of Jupiter; this done, she goes to mount Ida, 
where the god , at first sight , is ravished with her beauty , 
sinks in her embraces, and is laid asleep. Neptune takes 
advantage of his slumber, and succours the Greeks : HectoT 
is struck to the ground with a prodigious stone by Ajax, 
and carried off from the battle : several actions succeed ; till 
the Trojans, much distressed, are obliged to give way: the 
lesser Ajax signalizes himself in a particular manner. 



THE 

ILIAD. 

BOOK XIV. 



jDut nor the genial feast , nor flowing Lowl , 
Could charm the cares of Nestor's watchful soul ; 
His startled ears th' increasing cries attend , 
Then thus , impatient , to his wounded friend : 

« What new alarm , divine Machaon , say, 
"What mixt events attend this mighty day \ 
Hark! how the shouts divide, and how they meet, 
And now come full , and thicken to the fleet ! 
Here, with the cordial draught dispel thy care, 
Let Hecamede the strengthening hath prepare , 
Refresh thy wound, and cleanse the clotted gore ; 
While I th' adventures of the day explore. » 

He said : and seizing Thrasymedes' shield , 
His valiant offspring, hasten'd to the field; 
That day, the son his father's huckler hore ; 
Then snatch'd a lance , and issued from the door, 
Soon as the prospect open'd to his view, 
His wounded eyes the scene of sorrow knew ; 
Dire disarray! the tumult of the fight , 
The wall in ruins, and the Greeks in flight. 
As when old Ocean's silent surface sleeps , 
The waves just heaving on the purple deeps ; 
While yet th' expected tempest hangs on high , 
Weighs down the cloud, and blackens in the sky, 
The mass of waters will no wind obey ; 
Jove sends one gust, and bids them roll away. 
While wavering counsels thus his mind engage, 
Fluctuates in doubtful thought the Pj lian sage , 
To join the host , or to the general haste ; 
Debating long , he fixes on the last : 
Yet, as he moves , the fight his bosom warms ; 
The field rings dreadful with the clang of arms ; 



2>j8 HOMERS ILIAD. 

The gleaming faulchions flash , the javelins fly ; 

Blows echo blows , and all or kill or die. 

Him, in his march , the wounded princes meet, 
By tardy steps ascending from the fleet : 
The king of men , Ulysses the divine , 
And who to Tydeus owes his noble line. 
Their ships at distance from the battle stand , 
In lines advanc'd along the shelving strand ; 
Whose bay, the fleet unable to contain 
At length •, beside the margin of the main , 
Bank above rank, the crowded ships they moor: 
Who landed first lay highest on the shore. 
Supported on their spears, they took their way, 
Unfit to fight, but anxious for the day. 
Nestor's approach alarm'd each Grecian breast , 
Whom thus the general of the host addrest : 

« O grace and glory of th' Achaian name! 
W r hat drives thee, Nestor, from the field of fame? 
Shall then proud Hector see his boast fulfill'd, 
Our fleets in ashes , and our heroes kill'd? 
Such was his threat, ah! now too soon made good , 
On many a Grecian bosom writ in blood. 
Is every heart inflam'd with equal rage 
Against your king, nor will one chief engage? 
And have I liv'd to see with mournful eyes 
In every Greek a new Achilles rise 2 . » 

Gerenian Nestor then : « So fate has wilFd , 
And all-confirming time has fate fulfill'd. 
Not he that thunders from th' aerial bower, 
Not Jove himself , upon the past has power. 
The wall , our late inviolable bound 
And best defence , lies smoaking on the ground : 
Ev'n to the ships their conquering arms extend , 
And groans of slaughter'd Greeks to heaven ascend. 
On speedy measures then employ your thought ; 
In such distress if counsel profit aught , 
Arms cannot much : though Mars our souls incite , 
these gapiug wounds withold us from the fight. » 

To him the monarch : « That our army bends , 
That Troy triumphant our high fleet ascends, 
And that the rampart, late our surest trust 
And best defence , lies smoaking in the dust : 



BOOK XIV. ^79 

All this from Jove's afflictive hand we bear, 
Who, far from Argos , wills our ruin here. 
Past are the days when happier Greece was blest, 
And all his favour, all his aid confest; 
INow heaven averse , our hands from battle ties, 
And lifts the Trojan glory to the skies. 
Cease we at length to waste our blood in vain , 
And launch what ships lie nearest to the main j 
Leave these at anchor till the coming night : ) 

Then , if impetuous Troy forbear the fight , / 

Bring all to sea , and hoist each sail for flight , \ 

Better from evils , well foreseen , to run , 
Than perish in the danger we may shun. 

Thus he. The sage Ulysses thus replies , 
While anger flash' d from his disdainful eyes : 
« What shameful words, unkingly as thou art, 
Fall from that trembling tongue , and timorous heart ? 
Oh were thy sway the curse of meaner powers , 
And thou the shame of any host but ours ! 
A host , by Jove endu'd with martial might , 
And taught to conquer, or to fall in fight : 
Adventurous combats and bold wars to wage , 
Employ'd our youth , and yet employs our age : 
And wilt thou thus desert the Trojan plain? 
And have whole streams of blood been spilt in vain! 
In such base sentence if thou couch thy fear, 
Speak it in whispers , lest a Greek should hear. 
Lives there a man so dead to fame , who dares 
To think such meanness , or the thought declares ? 
And comes it ev'n from him whose sovereign sway 
The banded legions of all Greece obey? 
Is this a general's voice, that calls to flight, 
While war hangs doubtful, while his soldiers fight? 
W hat more could Troy ? What yet their fate denies , 
Thou giv'st the foe : all Greece becomes their prize. 
No more the troops, our hoisted sails in view, 
Themselves abandon'd, shall the fight pursue, 
Thy ships first flying, with despair shall see, 
And owe destruction to a prince like thee. » 

m Iky just reproofs (Atrides calm replies, ) 
Like arrows pierce me, for thy words are wise. 



2,8o HOMERS ILIAD. 

Unwilling as 1 am to lose the host , 
I force not Greece to quit this hateful coast. 
Glad I submit , whoe'er, or young or old , 
Aught more conducive to our weal unfold. » 

Tydides cut him short, and thus began : 
« Such counsel if you seek , behold the man 
Who boldly gives it ; and what he shall say, 
Young tho' he be , disdain not to obey : 
A youth , who from the mighty Tydeus springs , 
May speak to councils and assembled kings. 
Hear then in me the great Oenides' son , 
Whose honour'd dust , his race of glory run , 
Lies whelm'd in ruins of the Theban wall •, 
Brave in his life, and glorious in his fall. 
With three bold sons was generous Prothous blest , 
Who Pleuron's walls and Calydon possest; 
Melas and Agrius , but , who far surpast 
The rest in courage , Oeneus was the last. 
From him, my sire. From Calydon expell'd, 
He fled to Argos , and in exile dwell'd ; 
The monarch's daughter there, so Jove ordain'd, 
He won , and flourish'd where Adrastus reign'd ; 
There , rich in fortune's gifts , his acres till'd , ) 

Beheld his vines their liquid harvest yield , \ 

And numerous flocks that whiten'd all the field. \ 

Such Tydeus was , the foremost once in fame ! 
Nor lives in Greece a stranger to his name. 
Then , what for common good my thoughts inspire 9 
Attend , and in the son respect the sire. 
Tho' sore of battle, tho 7 with wounds opprest, 
Let each go forth, and animate the rest; 
Advance the glory which we cannot share , 
Tho' not partaker, witness of the war. 
But lest new wounds on wounds o'erpower us quite, 
Beyond the missile javelin's sounding flight 
Safe let us stand ; and from the tumult far, 
Inspire the ranks , and rule the distant war. » 

He added not: the listening kings obey, 
Slow moving on; Atrides leads the way. 
The god of ocean , to inflame their rage , 
Appears a warrior furrow'd o'er with age ; 



BOOK XIV. 281 

Prestin his own, the general's hand he took, 
And thus the venerable hero spoke. 

« Atrides , lo ! with what disdainful eye 
Achilles sees his country's forces fly : 
Bliud impious man ! whose anger is his guide , 
Who glories in unutterable pride. 
So may he perish , so may Jove disclaim 
The wretch relentless, and o'erwhelm wilh shame ! 
But heaven forsakes not thee : o'er yonder sands 
Soon shalt thou view the scatter'd Trojan bands 
Fly diverse ; while proud kings , and chiefs renown'd , 
Driven heaps on heaps, with clouds involv'd around 
Of rolling dust , their winged wheels employ 
To hide their ignominious heads in Troy. » 

He spoke , then rush'd amid the warring crew ; 
And sent his voice before him as he flew ; 
Loud as the shout encountering armies yield , 
When twice ten thousand shake the labouring field ; 
Such was the voice , and such the thundering sound 
Of him whose trident rends the solid ground. 
Each Argive bosom beats to meet the fight, 
And grisly wars appear a pleasing sight. 

Meantime Saturnia from Olympus' brow, 
High thron'd in gold , beheld the fields below; 
With joy the glorious conflict she survey'd, 
W here her great brother gave the Grecians aid. 
But plac'd TiJoft , on Ida's shady height 
She sees her Jove , and trembles at the sight. 
Jove to deceive, what methods shall she try, 
What arts , to blind his all-beholding eye ? 
At length she trusts her power ; resolv'd to prove 
The old , yet still successful , cheat of love •, 
Against his wisdom to oppose her charms , 
And lull the lord of thunders in her arms , 

Swift to her bright apartment she repairs , 
Sacred to dress , and beauty's pleasing cares : 
With skill divine had Vulcan form'd the bower. 
Safe from access of each intruding power. 
Touch'd with her secret key, the doors unfold; 
Self-close behind her shut the valves of gold. 
Here first she bathes : and round her body poui ;- 
Soft oils of fragrance and ambrosial showers : 



2S2 HOMER^ ILIAD. 

The winds perfumed, the balmy gale convey 

Thro' heaven, thro' earth , and all th' aerial way \ 

Spirit divine ! whose exhalation greets 

The sense of gods with more than mortal sweets. 

Thus while she bveath'd of heaven, with decent pride 

Her artful hands the radiant tresses ty'd ; 

Part on her head in shining ringlets roll'd, 

Part o'er her shoulders wav'd like melted gold. 

Around her next a heavenly mantle flow'd, 

That rich with Pallas' laboured colours glow'd ; 

Large clasps of gold the foldings gather'd round, 

A golden zone her swelling bosom bound. 

Far-beaming pendants tremble in her ear, 

Each gem illumin'd with a triple star. 

Then o'er her head she casts a veil , more white 

Than new fall'n snow , and dazzling as the light. 

Last her fair feet celestial sandals grace * 

Thus issuing radiant, with majestic pace, 

Forth from the dome th' imperial goddess moves, 

And calls the mother of the smiles and loves. 
« How long ( to Venus thus apart she cry'd ) 

Shall human strifes celestial minds divide! 

Ah yet, will Venus aid Saturnia's joy, 

And set aside the cause of Greece «nd Troy"? » 

■ — « Let heaven's dread empress ( Cytheraea said ) 
Speak her request , and deem her will obey'd. » 
«Then grant me (said the queen) those conquering charms, 
That power which mortals and immortals warms , 
That love which melts mankind in fierce desires , 
And burns the sons of heaven with sacred fires ! 
For lo ! I haste to those remote abodes , 
"Where the great parents , sacred source of gods ! 
Ocean and Tethys their old empire keep, 
On the last limits of the land and deep. 
In their kind arms my tender years were past; 
What time old Saturn, from Olympus cast , 
Of upper heaven to Jove resign'd the reign , 
"Whelm'd under the huge mass of earth and main. 
For strife , I hear, has made the union cease , 
Which held so long that ancient pair in peace. 
What honour and what love shall I obtain , 
If I compose those fatal feuds again ! 



BOOR XIV. ^83 

Once more their minds in mutual ties engage, 
And wha: my youth has ow'd , repay their age. » 

She said. With awe divine the queen of love 
Obey'd the sister and the wife of Jove : 
And from her fragrant breast the zone unhrac'd , 
With various skill and high embroidery 7 grac'd. 
In this was every art , and every charm , 
To win the wisest , and the coluest warm : 
Foud love , the gentle vow, the gay desire, 
The kind deceit, the still-reviving fire , 
Persuasive speech, and more persuasive sighs. 
Silence that spoke, and eloquence of eyes. 
This on her hand the Cyprian goddess laid; 
« Take this , and with it all thy wish » , ( she said. ) 
"With smiles she took the charm ; and smiling presfc 
The powerful cestus to her snowy breast. 

Then Venus to the courts of Jove withdrew ; 
Whilst from Olympus pleas'd Saturnia flew. 
O'er high Pieria thence her course she bore , 
O'er fair Emathia's ever-pleasing shore, 
O'er Hoemus' hills , with snows eternal crown'd *, 
?\or once her flying foot approach'd the ground. 
Then taking wing from Atho's lofty steep , 
She speeds to Lemnos o'er the rolling deep , I 

And seeks the cave of Death's half-brother, Sleep. I 

« Sweet pleasing Sleep ! ( Saturnia thus began ) 
"Who spread'st thy empire o'er each god and man ; 
If e'er obsequious to thy Juno's will , 
O power of slumbers ! hear, and favour still. 
Shed thy soft dews on Jove's immortal eyes, 
While sunk in love's entrancing joys he lies. 
A splendid footstool , and a throne , that shine 
With gold unfading, Somnus, shall be thine*, 
The work of Vulcan ; to indulge thy ease , 
"When wine and feasts thy golden humours please. » 

— « Imperial dame ! ( the balmy power replies) 
Great Saturn's heir, and empress of the skies ! 
O'er other gods I spread my easy chain ; 
The sire of all , old Oce^ui , owns my reign , ' 

And his hush'd waves lie silent on the main. ( 

Bui how , unbidden, shall I dare to steep 
Jove's awful temples in the dew of sleep? 



284 HOMERS ILIAD. 

Long since, too venturous, at thy bold command, 

On those eternal lids I laid my band : 

What time , deserting Dion's wasted plain , 

His conquering son , Alcides , plow'd the main : 

When lo! the deeps arise , the tempests roar, 

And drive the hero to the Coan shore : 

Great Jove awaking , shook the blest abodes 

With rising wrath , and tumbled gods on gods ; 

Me chief he sought , and from the realms on high 

Had huii'd indignant to the nether sky, 

But gentle Night, to whom I fled for aid , 

The friend of earth and heaven , her wings display'd ; 

ImpowerM the wrath of gods and men to tame , 

Ev'u Jove rever'd the venerable dame. » 

— « Vain are thy fears ( the queen of heaven replies , 
And , speaking , rolls her large majestic eyes ) ; 
Think'st thou that Troy has Jove's high favour won , 
Like great Alcides , his all-conquering son? 
Hear, and obey the mistress of the skies > 
Nor for the deed expect a vulgar prize ; 
For know, thy lov'd one shall be ever thine , 
The youngest Grace , Pasithae the divine. » 

— « Swear then ( he said ) by those tremendous floods 
That roar thro' hell , and bind th' invoking gods : 
Let the great parent Earth one hand sustain , 
And stretch the other o'er the sacred main. 
Call the black gods that round Saturnus dwell , 
To hear and witness from the depths of hell ; 
That she , my lov'd one , shall be ever mine , 
The youngest Grace, Pasithae the divine. » 

The queen assents ; and from th' infernal bowers 
Invokes the sable subtartarean powers , 
And those who rule th' inviolable floods , 
Whom mortals name the dread Titanian gods. 

Then swift as wind, o'er Lemnos' smoky isle , - 
They wing their way, and Imbrus' sea-beat soil , 
Thro' air unseen , involv'd in darkness glide , 
And light on Lectos , on the point of Ide , 
Mother of savages, whose echoing hills 
Are heard resounding with a hundred rills. 
Fair Ida trembles underneath the god *, 
Hush'd are her mountains , and her forests nod. 



BOOK XIV. 2i85 

There on a fir, whose spiry branches rise 
To join its summit to the neighbouring skies , 
Dark in embowering shade , conceal'd from sight, 
Sat Sleep , in likeness of the bird of night. 
Chalcis his name with those of heavenly birth, 
But call'd Cymindis by the race of earth. 

To Ida's top successful Juno flies ; 
Great Jove surveys her with desiring eyes : 
The god, whose lightning sets the heavens on fire, 
Thro' all his bosom feels the fierce desire; 
Fierce as when first by stealth he seiz'd her charms , 
Mix'd with her soul, and melted in her arms. 
Fix'd on her eyes he fed his eager look , 
Then press'd her hand , and thus with transport spoke : 

« Why comes my goddess from th' aetherial sky, 
And not her steeds and flaming chariot nigh l . » 
Then she : « I haste to those remote abodes , 
"Where the great parents of the deathless gods , 
The reverend Ocean and grey Tethys reign , 
On the last limits of the land and main. 
I visit these , to whose indulgent cares 
I owe the nursing of my tender years. 
For strife, I hear, has made that union cease, 
Which held so long this ancient pair in peace. 
The steeds , prepar'd my chariot to convey 
O'er earth and seas, and thro' th' aerial way, 
Wait under Ide : of thy superior power 
To ask consent , I leave th' Olympian bower ; 
Nor seek, unknown to thee , the sacred cells 
Deep under seas , where hoary Ocean dwells. » 

— «For that ( said Jove ) suffice another day ; 
But eager love denies the least delay. 
Let softer cares the present hour employ, 
And be these moments sacred all to joy. 
Ne'er did my soul so strong a passion prove , 
Or for an earthly or a heavenly love : 
Not when I press'd Ixion's matchless dame , 
Whence rose Perithous like the gods in fame. 
Not when fair Danae felt the shower of gold 
Stream into life , whence Perseus brave and bold. 
Not thus I burn'd for either Theban dame/ 
Bacchus from this , from that Alcides came. 



a86 homer's ILIAD. 

Not Phoenix' daughter, beautiful and young , 

Whence godlike Rhadamanth and Minos sprung. 

Not thus I burn'd for fair Latona's face , 

Nor comelier Ceres' more majestic grace. 

Not thus ev'n for thyself I felt desire , 

As now my veins receive the pleasing fire. » 

He spoke; the goddess with the charming eyes 
Glows with celestial red , and thus replies : 
« Is this a scene for love l . on Ida's height , 
Expos'd to mortal , and immortal sight *, 
Our joys profanM by each familiar eye , 
The sport of heaven , and fable of the sky. 
How shall I e'er review the blest abodes , 
Or mix among the senate of the gods ? 
Shall I not thmk, that, with disorder'd charms , 
All heaven beholds me recent from thy arms I 
With skill divine has Vulcan form'd thy bower, 
Sacred to love , and to the genial hour ; 
If such thy will , to that recess retire , 
And secret there indulge thy soft desire. » 

«» She ceas'd ; and , smiling with superior love , 
Thus answer'd mild the cloud-compelling Jove : 
« Nor god, nor mortal shall our joys behold, 
Shaded with clouds, and circumfus'd in gold, 
Not ev'n the sun, who darts thro' heaven his rajs , 
And whose broad eye th' extended earth surveys. » 

Gazing he spoke , and kindling at the view, 
His eager arms around the goddess threw. 
Glad,earth perceives, and from her bosom pours 
Unbidden herbs and voluntary flowers : 
Thick new-born violets a soft carpet spread , 
And clustering lotos swell'd the rising bed , 
And sudden hyacinths the turf bestrow, 
And flamy crocus made the mountain glow. 
There golden clouds conceal the heavenly pair, 
Steep'd in soft joys , and circumfus'd with air ; 
Celestial dews , descending o'er the ground , 
Perfume the mount , and breathe ambrosia round. 
At length with love and sleep's soft power opprest, 
The panting thunderer nods , and sinks to rest. 

Now to the navy borne on silent wings , 
To Neptune's ear soft Sleep his message brings *, 



BOOK XIV. 287 

Beside him sudden , unperceiv'd he stood , 
And thus with gentle words address'd the god : 

« Now, JNeptune! now, th' important hour employ, 
To check a while the haughty hopes of Troy : 
While Jove yet rests , while yet my vapours shed 
The golden vision round his sacred head ; 
For Juno's Jove, and Somuus' pleasing ties , 
Have clos'd those awful and eternal eyes, m 

Thus having said , the power of slumher flew, 
On humau lids to drop the halmy dew. 
Neptune , with zeal increas'd , renews his care , 
And toweriug in the foremost ranks of war, 
Indignant thus : « Oh once of martial fame ! 
O Greeks ! if yet ye can d serve the name ! 
This half-recover'd day shall Troy obtain ? 
Shall Hector thunder at your ships again? 
Lo still he vaunts , and threats the fleet with fires , 
While stern Achilles in his wrath retires. 
One hero's loss too tamely you deplore , 
Be still yourselves, and we shall need no more. 
Oh yet , if glory any bosom warms , 
Brace on your firmest helms , and stand to arms : 
His strongest spear each valiant Grecian wield , 
Each valiant Grecian seize his broadest shield 5 
Let , to the weak , the lighter arms belong , 
The ponderous targe be wielded by the strong : 
Thus arm'd , not Hector shall our presence stay •, 
Myself, ye Greeks ! myself will lead the way. » 

The troops assent ; their martial arms they change, 
The busy chiefs their banded legions range. 
The kings, tho' wounded and oppress'd with pain, 
Y\ itfa helpful hands themselves assist the train. 
The strong and cumberous arms the valiant wield, 
The weaker warrior takes a lighter shield. 
Thus sheath'd in shining brass , in bright array, 
The legions march, and Neptune leads the way; 
His brandish'd faulchion flames before their eyes, 
Like lightning flashing thro' the frighted skies. 
Clad in his might th' earth-shaking power appears ; 
Pale mortals tremble, and confess their fears. 
Troy's great defender stands alone unaw'd , 
Arms his proud host, and dares oppose a god : 



288 HOMER^ ILIAD. 

And lo ! the god, and wondrous man appear! 
The sea's great ruler there , and Hector here. 
The roaring main, at her great master's call , 
Rose in huge ranks , and form'd a watery wall 
Around the ships : seas hanging o'er the shores , 
Both armies join: earth thunders, ocean roars. 
Not half so loud the bellowing deeps resound, 
When stormy winds disclose the dark profound ; 
Less loud the winds , that from th' iEolian hall 
Roar thro' the woods, and make whole forests fall ; 
Less loud the woods, when flames in torrents pour, 
Catch the dry mountain, and its shades devour. 

With such a rage the meeting hosts are driven , 
And such a clamour shakes the sounding heaven. 
The first bold javelin urg'd by Hector's force, 
Direct at Ajax' bosom wing'd its course ; 
But there no pass the crossing belts afford, 
One brac'd his shield , and one sustain'd his sword. 
Then back the disappointed Trojan drew, 
And curs'd the lance that unavailing flew : 
But 'scap'd not Ajax ; his tempestuous hand 
A ponderous stone up-heaving from the sand , 
Where heaps laid loose beneath the warrior's feet, 
Grserv'd to ballast, or to prop the fleet, 
Toss'd round and round , the missive marble flings ; 
On the raz'd shield the falling ruin rings , 
Full on his breast and throat with force descends ; 
Nor deaden'd there its giddy fury spends, 
But whirling on , with many a fiery round , 
Smokes in the dust , and ploughs into the grounds 
As when the bolt , red-hissing from above , 
Darts on the consecrated plant of Jove , 
The mountain oak in flaming ruin lies , 
Black from the blow, and smokes of sulphur rise ; 
Stiff with amaze the pale beholders stand , 
And own the terrors of th' almighty hand ! 
So lies great Hector prostrate on the shore ; 
His slacken'd hand deserts the lance it bore ; 
His following shield the fallen chief o'erspread ; 
Beneath his helmet dropp'd his fainting head \ 
His load of armour sinking to the ground , 
Clanks on the field; a dead and hollow sound. 



BOOK XIV. 289 

Loud shouts of triumph fill the crowded plain t 
Greece sees, in hope, Troy's great defender slain : 
All spring to seize him ; storms of arrows fly ; 
And thicker javelins intercept the -sky. 
In vain an iron tempest hisses round ; 
He lies protected and without a wound. 
Polydamas , x\genor the divine , 
The pious warrior of Anchises' line , 
And each bold leader of the Lycian band , 
With covering shields , a friendly circle , stand. 
His mournful followers , with assistant care , 
The groaning hero to his chariot bear ; 
His foaming coursers, swifter than the wind , 
Speed to the town , and leave the war behind. 

When now they touch'd the mead's enamell'd side r 
Where gentle Xanthus rolls his easy tide , 
With watery drops the chief they sprinkle round , 
Plac'd on the margin of the flowery ground, 
Rais'd on his knees, he now ejects the gore *, 
ZVow faints anew, low sinking on the shore ; 
By fits he breathes, half views the fleeting skies, 
And seals again, by fits, his swimming eyes. 

Soon as the Greeks the chiefs retreat beheld , 
With double fury each iumdes the field. 
Oilean Ajax first his javelin sped , 
Pierc'd by whose point the son of Enops bled; 
Satnius the brave , whom beauteous Neis bore 
Amidst her flocks , on Satnio's silver shore ; 
Struck thro' the belly's rim, the warrior lies 
Supine , and shades eternal veil his eyes. 
An arduous battle rose around the dead ; 
By turns the Greeks , by turns the Trojans fled, 
Fii 'd with revenge , Polydamas drew near, 
And at Prothoenor shook the trembling spear; 
The driving javelin thro' his shoulder thrust, 
He sinks to earth , and gra.-ps the bloody dust. 
« Lo thus ( the victor cries ) we rule the field, 
And thus their arms the race of Panthus wield J 
From this unerring hand there flies no dart 
But bathes its point within a Grecian heart, 

i3 



<LJ)0 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

Propt on that spear to which thou ow'st thy fall, 

Go , guide thy darksome steps to Pluto's dreary hall ! » 

He said , and sorrow touch'd each Argive hreast : 
The soul of Ajax hurn'd above the rest. 
As by his side the groaning w T arrior fell , 
At the fierce foe he launch'd his piercing steel ; 
The foe reclining, shunn'd the flying dea'h ; 
But fate , Archilochus, demands thy breath : 
Thy lofty birth no succour could impart , 
The wings of death o'ertook thee on the dart. 
Swift to perform heaven's fatal will it fled , 
Full on the juncture of the neck and head, 
And took the joint, and cut the nerves in twain : 
The drooping head first tumbled to the plain. 
So just the stroke , that yet the body stood 
Erect , then roll'd along the sands in blood. 

« Here , proud Polydamas , here turn thy eyes ! 
( The towering Ajax loud-insulting cries ) 
Say, is this chief extended on the plain, 
A worthy vengeance for Prothcenor slain ? 
Mark well his port ! his figure and his face 
Nor speak him vulgar, nor of vulgar race ; 
Some lines, methinks , may make his lineage known , 
Antenor's brother, or perhaps his son. » 

He spake, and smil'd severe, for well he knew 
The bleeding youth : Troy sadden'd at the view. 
But furious Acamas aveng'd his cause ; 
As Proriiachus his slaughter'd brother draws , 
He pierc'd his heart — « Such fate attends you all, 
Proud Argives ! destin'd by our arms to fall. 
Nor Troy alone , but haughty Greece shall share 
The toils , the sorrows , and the wounds of war. 
Behold your Promachus depriv'd of breath , 
A victim ow'd to my brave brother's death. 
Not unappeas'd he enters Pluto's gate , 
Who leaves a brother to revenge his fate.» 

Heart-piercing anguish- struck the Grecian host , 
But touch'd the breast of bold Peneleus most: 
At the proud boaster he directs his course ; 
The boaster flies, and shuns superior force. 



BOOK XIV. a^l 

Cut j'oung Ilioneus received the spear ', 

Ilioneus, his father's only care : 

Phorhas the rich , of all the Trojan train 

Whom Hermes lov'd, and taught the arts of gain ; 

Full in his eye the weapon chanc'd to fall , 

And from the fibres scoop'd the rooted hall , 

Drove thro 7 the neck , and hurl'd him to the plain : 

He lifts his miserable arms in vain ! 

Swift his broad faulehion fierce Peneleus spread , 

And from the spouting shoulders struck his head ; 

To earth at once the head and helmet fly ; 

The lance , yet sticking thro' the bleeding eye , 

The victor seiz'd ; and as aloft he shook 

The goary visage , thus insulting spoke : 
« Trojans ! your great Ilioneus behold ! 

Haste , to his father let the tale be told : 

Let his high roofs resound with frantic woe , 

Such as the house of Promachus must know ; 

Let doleful tidings greet his mother's ear, 

Such as to Promachus' sad spouse we bear ; 

When we victorious shall to Greece return , 

And the pale matron in our triumphs mourn. » 
Dreadful he spoke, then toss'd the head on high : 

The Trojans hear, they tremble , and they fly ; 

Aghast they gaze around the fleet and wall, 
And dread the ruin that impends on all. 

Daughters of Jove ! that on Olyrnpus shine , 
Ye all-beholding, all-recording Nine! 
O say, when Neptune made proud Ilion yield , 
"What chief, what hero, first embru'd the field? 
Of all the Grecians what immortal name, 
And whose blest trophies , will ye raise to fame? 

Thou first, great Ajax! on th' ensanguin'd plain 
Laid Hyrtius, leader of the Mysian train. 
Phalces and Mermer, Nestor's son o'erthrew. 
P>old Merion , Morys and Hippotion slew. 
Strong Periphaetes and Prothoon bled , 
By Teucer's arrows mingled with the dead. 
Pierc'd in the flank by Menelaus' steel, 
His people's pastor, Hyperenor fell ; 



292 HOMER'S ILIAD. BOOK XIV. 

Eternal darkness wrapt the warrior round , 

And the fierce soul came rushing thro' the wound > 

But stretch'd in heaps before Oileus' son , 

Fall mighty numbers , mighty numbers run j 

Ajax the less, of all the Grecian race 

Skill'd in pursuit, and swiftest in the chace*. 



THE ARGUMENT. 

The fifth battle , at the ships ; and the acts of ' A)ax, 

Jupiter, awaking , sees the Trojans repulsed from the tren- 
ches , Hector in a swoon , and Neptune at the head of the 
Greeks : he is highly incensed at the artifice of Juno, who 
appeases him by her submissions •, she is then sent to Iris 
and Apollo. Juno, repairing to the assembly of the gods, 
attempts with extraordinary address to incense them against 
Jupiter ; in particular, touches Mars with a violent resent- 
ment : he is ready to take arms, but is prevented by Mi- 
nerva. Iris and Apollo obey the orders of Jupiter ; Iris com- 
mands Neptune to leave the battle , to which , after much 
reluctance and passion r he consents. Apollo re-inspires Hec- 
tor with vigour, brings him back to the battle, marches 
before him with his AEgis, and turns the fortune of the 
fight. He breaks down great part of the Grecian wall : the 
Trojans rush in , and attempt to fire the first, line of the 
fleet, but are, as yet, repelled by the greater Ajax with 
a prodigious slaughter. 



T H E 

ILIAD. 

BOOK XV, 



-*ow in swift flight they pass the trench 
And in any a chief lay gasping on the ground : 
Then stopp'd and panted, where the chariots lie . 
Fear on. their cheek, and horror in their eye. 
Meanwhile , awaken" d from his dream of Iov« , 
On Ida's summit sat imperial Jove : 
Round the wide fields he cast a- careful view. 
There saw the Trojans iiy, the Greek? puis 
These proud in arms . those scatter* d o'er the plan: 
And , : inidst the war, the monarch of the main 
Not far, great Hector on the dust he spies j 

1 associates round with w 
Ejecting blood, and panting yet for breath , 
His senses wandering to the verge of death. 
The god beheld him with a pitying look , 
And thus , incens'd , to fraudful Juno spoke : 

«0 thou, still adverse to tit 1 eternal will , 
For ever studious in promoting ill ! 
Thy arts have made the godlike Hector yield , 
And driv'n his conquering squadrons from tl 
Canst thou , unhappy in thy wiles ! withstand 
Our power immense, and brave th' almighty 
Hast thou forgot, when bound and hVd on I 
liom the vast concave of the spangled skv. 
I hung thee trembling , in a golden chain . 
And all the raging gods oppos'd in vain* 
Headlong I hurPd them from th* Olympian 
Stunn'dinthe whirl, and breathless with the 

dlike Hercules these deeds were dc 
Nor seem'd the vengeance worthy such a son 
W hen , by thy w iles induc'd , fierce Boreas tod 
The sbipwrccL'd hero on the Coan coast , 



2p6 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

Him thro' a thousand forms of death I bore , 
And sent to Argos , and his native shore. 
Hear this , remember, and our fury dread , 
Nor pull th' unwilling vengeance on thy head ; 
Lest arts and blandishments successless prove 
Thy soft deceits , and well- dissembled love. » 

The thunderer spoke : imperial Juno mourn'd , 
And, trembling, these submissive words return'd; 

a By every oath that powers immortal ties , 
The foodful earth , and all-infolding skies ; 
By thy black waves , tremendous Styx ! that flow 
Thro' the drear realms of gliding ghosts below, 
By the dread honours of thy sacred head , 
And that unbroken vow, our virgin bed ! 
Kot by my arts the ruler of the main 
Steeps Troy in blood, and ranges round the plain ; 
By his own ardour, his own pity, sway'd 
To help his Greeks , he fought , and disobey'd : 
'Else had thy Juno better counsels given , 
And taught submission to the sire of heaven. » 

— « Think'st thou with me 2 , fair empress of the skies! 
( Th' immortal father with a smile replies ! ) 
Then soon the haughty sea-god shall obey, 
Nor dare to act but when we point the way. 
If truth inspires thy tongue , proclaim our will 
To yon bright synod on th' Olympian Kill ; 
Oar high decree let various Iris know, 
And call the god that bears the silver bow. 
Let her descend, and from th' embattled plain 
Command the sea-god to his watery reign : 
While Phoebus hastes , great Hector to prepare 
To rise afresh , and once more wake the war *, 
His labouring bosom reinspires with breath., 
And calls his senses from the verge of death. 
Greece, chas'd by Troy ev'n to Achilles' fleet, 
Shall fall by thousands at the hero's feet. 
He , not untouched with pity, to the plain 
Shall send Patroclus , but shall send in vain. 
What youth he slaughters under Ilion's wails ? 
Ev'n my lov'd son , divine Sarpedon, fails ! 
Vanquish'd at last by Hector'^ lance he lies . ^ 

Then , nor till then , shall great Achilles rise ; f 

And lo! that instant, godlike Hector dies, i 



BOOK xv. o ( y. 

From that great hour the war's whole fortune turns , 

Pallas assists , and lofty Ilion burns. 

IVot till that day shall Jove relax his rage; 

3Vor one of all the heavenly host engage 

In aid of Greece. The promise of a god 

I gave , and seal'd it with th' almighty nod , 

Achilles' glory to the stars to raise : 

Such was our word , and fate the word obeys. » 

The trembling queen , lh' almighty order given . 
Swift from tlv Idsean summit shot to heaven. 
As some way-faring man , who wanders o'er 
In thought a length of lands he trod before , 
♦Sends forth his active mind from place to place \ 
Joins hill to dale , and measures space with space: 
So swift fiew Juno to the blest abodes , 
If thought of man can match the speed of gods. 
There sat the powers in awful synod plac'd : 
They bow'd and made obeissance as shepass'd, 
Thro' all the brazen dome : with goblets crown'd 
They hail her queen *. the nectar streams around. 
Fair Themis first presents the golden bowl, 
Ami, anxious, asks what cares disturb her soul? 

To whom the white-arm'd goddess thus replies : 
«< Enough thou know'st the tyrant of the skies , 
Severely bent his purpose to fulfil , 
"Cnmov'd his mind , and unrestrain'd his will. 
Go thou , the feasts of heaven attend thy call : 
Bid the crown'd nectar circle round the hall ; 
But Jove shall thund€r thro' th' ethereal dome 
Such stern decrees, such threaten'd woes to come , 
As soon shall freeze mankind with dire surprize , 
And damp th' eternal banquets of the skies. » 

The goddess said , and sullen took her place: 
Black horror j>adden'd each celestial face. 
To see the gathering grudge in every breast , 
Smiles on her lips a spleeuful joy exprest ; 
While on her wrinkled front , and eye-brow bent. 
Sat steadfast care , and lowering discontent. 
Thus she proceeds: « Attend , ye powers above! 
But know , 'tis madness to contest with Jove : 
Supreme he sits ; and sees , in pride of sway, 
Your vassal godheads grudgingly obey ; 



2pO HO ME ITS ILIAD. 

Fierce in the majesty of power controuls , 

Shakes all the thrones of heaven ,~and bends the poles, 

Submiss , immortals ! all he wills , obey ; 

And thou, great Mars, begin and show the way. 

Behold Ascalaphus ! behold him die , 

But dare not murmur, dare not vent a sigh ; 

Thy own lov'd boasted offspring lies o'erthrown , 

If that lov'd boasted offspring be thy own. » 

Stern Mars , with anguish for his slaughtered son ,« 
Smote his rebelling breast , and fierce begun : 
« Thus then , immortals ! thus shall Mars obey ; 
Forgive me , gods , and yield my vengeance way : 
Descending first to yon forbidden plain, 
The god of battle dares avenge the slain ; 
Dares, tho' the thunder, bursting o'er my head, 
Should hurl me blazing on those heaps of dead. » 

With that , he gives command to Fear and Flight 
To join his rapid coursers for the fight : 
Then grim in arms , with hasty vengeance flies ; 
Arms , that reflect a radiance thro' the skies. 
And now had Jove , by bold rebellion driven , 
Discharg'd his wrath on half the host of heaven •> 
But Pallas, springing thro' the bright abode , 
Starts from her azure throne to calm the god. 
Struck for th' immortal race with timely fear, 
From frantic Mars she snatch'd the shield and spear ; 
Then the huge helmet lifting from his head, 
Thus to th' impetuous homicide she said : 

« By what wild passion , furious ! art thou tost ? 
Striv'st thou with Jove l . thou art already lost. 
Shall not the Thunderer's dread command restrain, 
And was imperial Juno heard in vain? 
Back to the skies would'st thou with shame be driven , 
And in thy guilt involve the host of heaven ? 
Ilion and Greece no more should Jove engage , 
The skies would yield an ampler scene of rage , 
Guilty and guiltless find an equal fate , 
And one vast ruin whelm th' Olympian state. 
Gease then thy offspring's death unjust to call , 
Heroes as great have dy'd , and yet shall fall. 
Why should heaven's law with foolish man comply, 
Exempted from the race ordain'd to die! » 



BOOK XV. 2C.CJ 

This menace fix'd the warrior to his throne ; 
Sullen he sat, and curb'd the rising groan. 
Then Juno cail'd , Jove's orders to obey, 
The winged Iris , and the god of day. 
«Go, wait the Thunderer's will (Saturnia cry'd) 
On yon tali summit of the founimi lie; 
There in the father's awful presence stand , 
Receive , and execute bis dread command. » 

She said, and sat : the god that gilds the day, 
A iid various Iris, wing their airy way : 
Swift as the wind, to Ida's hills they came, 
Fair nurse of fountains and of savage game : 
There sat th' Eternal : he, whose nod eonirbufs 
The trembling world, and shakes the stead}' poles, 
Vcif'd in a mist of fragrance him they found , 
With clouds of gold and purple circled round. 
V\ ellpleas'd the Thunderer saw their earnest care , 
And prompt obedience to the queen of air; 
Then , while a smile serenes his awful brow , 
Commands the goddess of the showery bow : 

« Iris ! descend , and" what we here ordain 
Report to yon mad tyrant of the main. 
Bid him from fight to his own deeps repair , 
Or breathe from slaughter in the fields of air. 
li he refuse, then let him timely weigh 
Our elder birth-right, and superior sway. 
Hew shall his rashness stand the dive alarms , 
If heaven's omnipotence descend in arms? 
Strives he with me, by whom his power was given? 
And is there equal to the Lord of heaven ! » 

Th' almighty spoke; the goddess wiug'd her flight 
To sacred Iiion from th' Idsean height. 
Swift as the rattling haii , or fleecy snow- } 
Drive thro' the skies, when Boreas fiercely blows ; 
So from the clouds descending Iris falls , 
And to blue Neptune thus the goddess calls : 

« Attend the mandate of the sire above, 
In me behold the messenger of Jove : 
He bids thee from forbidden wars repair 
To thy own deeps, or to the fields of air. 
This, if refus'd, he bids thee timely weigh 
His elder birth-right ,' and superior sway. 



300 KOMEr's ILIAD. 

How shall thy rashness stand the dire alarms , 

If heaven's omnipotence descend in arms £ 

Striv'st thou with him , hy whom all power is given? 

And art thou equal to the Lord of heaven ?» 

■ — « \\"hat means the haughty sovereign of the skies? 
(The king of ocean thus, incens'd, replies') 
Hule as he will his portioned realms on high; 
No vassal god , nor of his train , am I. 
Three brother deities from Saturn came, 
And ancient Rhea , earth's immortal dame : 
Assign'd hy lot, our triple rule we know, 
Infernal Pluto sways the shades below *, 
O'er the wide clouds, and o'er the starry plain, 
Ethereal Jove extends his high domain ; 
My court beneath the hoary waves I keep, 
And hush the roarings of the sacred deep ; 
Olympus , and this earth , in common lie ; 
What claim has here the tyrant of the sky ? 
Far in the distant clouds let him controul , 
And awe the younger brothers of the pole : 
There to his children his commands be given , 
The trembling, servile, second race of heaven. » 

— « And must I then ( said she ), O sire of floods ! 
Bear this fierce answer to the king of gods? 
Correct it yet , and change thy rash intent ; 
A noble mind disdains not to repent. 
To elder brothers guardian fiends are given, 
To scourge the wretch insulting them and heaven. » 

•— « Great is the profit ( thus the god rejoin'd ) 
When ministers are blest with prudent mind : 
Warn'd by thy words , to powerful Jove I yield , 
And quit , tho' angry, the contended field. 
3Vot but his threats with justice I disclaim , 
The same our honours , and our birth the same. 
If yet forgetful of his promise given 
To Hermes , Pallas , and the queen of heaven ; 
To favour Ilion, that perfidious place, 
He breaks his faith with half th' ethereal race ; 
Give him to know, unless the Grecian train 
Lay yon proud structures level with the plain , 
How e'er th' offence by other gods be past, 
The wrath of Neptune shall for ever last. » 



BOOR XV. 301 

Thus speaking, furious from the field he strode , 
And plung'd into the bosom of the flood. 
The Lord of thunders from his lofty height 
Beheld , and thus bespoke the source of light : 

« Behold ! the god whose liquid arms are hurl'd 
Around the globe , whose earthquakes rock the world, 
Desists at length his rebel- war to wage , 
Seeks his own seas , and trembles at our rage ; 
Else had my wrath , heaven's thrones all shaking round , 
Burn'd to the bottom of the seas profound ; 
And all the gods that round old Saturn dwell , 
Had heard the thunders to the deeps of hell. 
Well was the crime, and well the vengeance spar'd : 
Ev'n power immense had found such battle hard. 
Go thou , my son ! the trembling Greeks alarm , 
Shake my broad iEgis on thy active arm , . 
Be godlike Hector thy peculiar care , 
Swell his bold heart, and urge his strength to war : 
Let liion conquer, till th' Achaian train 
Fly to their ships and Hellespont again ; 
Then Greece shall breathe from toils. » The godhead said j . 
His will divine the son of Jove obey'd. 
Nor half so swift the sailing falcon flies , 
That drives a turtle thro' the liquid skies *, 
As Phoebus , shooting from th' Idaean brow , 
Glides down the mountain to the plain below. 
There Hector seated by the stream he sees , 
His sense returning with the coming breeze ; 
Again his pulses beat, his spirits rise; 
Again his lov'd companions meet his eyes ; 
Jove thinking of his pains , they past away. 
To whom the god who gives the golden day : 

« Why sits great Hector from the field so far? 
What grief, what wound, withholds him from the war"? 

The fainting hero , as the vision bright 
Stood shining o'er him , half uuseal'd his sight : 
« What blest immortal , with commanding breath , 
Thus wakens Hector from the sleep of death ? 
Has fame not told , how , while my trusty sword 
Bath'd Greece in slaughter, and her battle gor'd , 
The mighty Ajax with a deadly blow 
Had almost sunk me to the shades below \ 



002 HOMERS ILIAD. 

Ev'n yet , methiiiks , the gliding ghosts I spy, 
And hell's black horrors swim before my eye. » 

To him Apollo : « Be no more dismay'd ; 
See , and be strong ! the Thunderer sends thee aid. 
Behold ! thy Phcebus shall his arms employ, 
Phoebus , propitious still to thee and Troy. 
Inspire thy warriors then with manly force, 
And to the ships impel thy rapid horse : 
Ev'n I will make thy fiery coursers way, 
And drive the Grecians headlong to the sea. » 
Thus to bold Hector spoke the son of Jove , 
And breath'd immortal ardour from above. 
As when the pamper'd steed , with reins unbound , 
Breaks from his stall , and pours along the ground , 
"With ample strokes he rushes to the flood. 
To bathe his sides , and cool his fiery blood ; 
His head , now freed , he tosses to the skies , 
His mane dishevel'd o'er his shoulders flies : 
He snuffs the females in the well-known plain , 
And springs , exulting , to his fields again : 
Urg'd by the voice divine , thus Hector flew , 
Full of the god ; and all his hosts pursue. 
As when the force of men and dogs combin'd , 
Invade the mountain goat , or branching hind ; 
Far from the hunter's rage secure they lie 
Close in the rock , not fated }~et to die *, 
When lo ! a lion shoots across the way j 
They fly, at once the chasers and the prey: 
So Greece , that late in conquering troops pursu'd , 
And mark'd their progress thro' the ranks in blood , 
Soon as they see the furious chief appear, 
Forget to vanquish , and consent to fear. 

Thoas with grief observ'd his dreadful course , 
Thoas , the bravest of th' iEtolian force -, 
Skill'd to direct the javelin's distant flight, 
And bold to combat, in the standing fight : 
Kor more in councils fam'd for solid sense, 
Than winning words and heavenly eloquence. 
« Gods ! what portent ( he cry'd ) these eyes invades ? 
Lo ! Hector rises from the Stygian shades ! 
We saw him $ late , by thundering Ajax kit I'd : 
What god restores him to the frighted field ? 



cook xv. oc:> 

And, not content that half of Greece lie slain, 
Pours new destruction on her sons again ? 
He comes not, Jove ! without thy powerful will ; 
Lo ! still he lives, pursues , and conquers still ! 
Yet hear my counsel, and his worst withstand: 
The Greeks' main body to 4he fleet command*, 
But let the few whom brisker spirits warm , 
Stand the first onset, and provoke the storm. 
Thus point your arms ; and when such foes appear. 
Fierce as he is, let Hector learn to fear. » 

The warrior spoke, the listening Greeks obey, 
Thickening their ranks , and form a deep array. 
Each Ajax, Teucer, Merion , gave command, 
The valiant leader of the Cretan baiid_, 
And Mars-like Meges : these the chiefs excite, 
Approach the foe , and meet the coming fight. 
Behind , unnumber'd multitudes attend , 
To flank the navy, and the shores defend. 
Full on the front the pressing Trojans bear, 
And Hector first came towering to the war. 
Phoebus himself the rushing battle led; 
A veil of clouds involv'd his radiant head : 
High-held before him , Jove's enormous shield 
Portentous shone , and shaded all the field : 
Vulcan to Jove th' immortal gift consign'd , 
To scatter hosts, and terrify mankind. 
The Greeks expect the shock ; the clamours rise 
From different parts, and mingle in the skies. 
Dire was the hiss of darts by heroes flung , 
And arrows leaping from the bow-string sung; 
These drink the life of generous Warriors slain ; 
Those guiltless fall , and thirst for blood in vain. 
As long as Phoebus bore unmov'd the shield , 
Sat doubtful conquest hovering o'er the held ; 
But when aloft he shakes it in the skies , 
Shouts iu their ears, and lightens in their eyes, 
Deep horror seizes every Grecian breast , 
Their force is humbled, and their fear confest. 
So flies a herd of oxen , scattered wide , 
IVo swain to guard them , and no day to guide, 
"When two fell lions from the mountain come, 
And spread the carnage thro' the shady gloom. 



3o4 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

Impending Phoebus pours around them fear, 
And Troy and Hector thunder in the rear. 
Heaps fall on heaps : the slaughter Hector leads j 
First great Arcesilas , then Stichius bleeds ; 
One to the bold Boeotians ever dear, 
And one Menestheus' friend „and fam'd compeer. 
Medon and Iasus, iEueas sped; 
This sprung from Phelus , and th' Athenians led •, 
But hapless Medon from Oileus came ; 
Him Ajax honour'd with a brothers name, 
Tho' born of lawless love : from home expeli'd , 
A banish'd man, in Phylace he dwell'd , 
Press'd by the vengeance of an angry wife ; 
Troy ends, at last, his labours and his life. 
Mecistes next , Polydamas o'erthrew ; 
And thee , brave Clonius ! great Agenor slew. 
By Paris, Deiochus inglorious dies, 
Pierc'd thro' the shoulder as he basely flies. 
Polites' arms laid Echius on the plain ; 
Stretch'd on one heap, the victors spoil the slain. 
The Greeks dismay'd, confus'd , disperse or fall , 
Some seek the trench, some skulk behind the wall ; 
While these fly trembling , others pant for breath , 
And o'er the slaughter stalks gigantic death. 
On rush'd bold Hector, gloomy as the night , 
Forbids to plunder, animates the fight ; 
Points to the fleet: « For, by the gods, who flies , 
Who dares but linger, by this hand he dies; 
No weeping sister his coid eye shall close , 
No friendly hand his funeral pyre compose. 
Who stops to plunder, in this signal hour, 
The birds shall tear him , and the dogs devour. » 
Furious he said ; the smarting scourge resounds ; 
The coursers fly ; the smoking chariot bounds ; 
The hosts rush on; loud clamours shake the shore; 
The horses thunder ; earth and ocean roar ! 
Apollo , planted at the trench's bound , 
Push'd at the bank ; down sunk th' enormous mound ; 
Roll'd in the ditch the heapy ruin lay ; 
A sudden road I a long and ample way ! 
O'er the dread fosse , a late impervious space, 
Now steeds , and men, and cars, tumultuous pass. 



BOOK xv. 3o5 

The wondering crowds the downward level trod : 
Before them flarn'd the shield , and niareh'd the god 
Then with his hand he shook the mighty wall *, 
And lo ! the turrets nod, the bulwarks fall. 
Easy, as when ashore the infant stands , 
And draws imagin'd houses in the sands*, 
The sportive wanton , pleas'd with some new play, 
Sweeps the slight works and fashion'd domes away. 
Thus vanish , at thy touch , the towers and walls •, 
The toil of thousands in a moment falls ! 

The Grecians gaze around with wild despair, 
Confus'd, and weary all the powers with prayer ; 
Exhort their men with praises, threats, commands, 
And urge the gods with voices , eyes, and hands. 
Experienc'd Nestor chief obtests the skies, 
And weeps his country with a father's eyes : 

« O Jove ! if ever, on his native shore , 
One Greek enrich'd thy shrine with offer'd gore r, 
If e'er in hope our country to behold , 
We paid the fattest firstlings of the fold; 
If e'er thou sign'st our wishes with thy nod, 
Perform the promise of a gracious god ! 
This day, preserve our navies from the flame , 
And save the reliques of the Grecian name. » 

Thus pray'd the sage : th' eternal gave consent , 
And peals of thunder shook the firmament. 
Presumptuous Troy mistook th' accepting sign , 
And catch'd new fury at the voice divine. 
As , when black tempests mix the seas and skies , 
The roaring deeps in watery mountains rise , 
Above the sides of some tall ship ascend , 
Its womb they deluge , and its ribs they rend : 
Thus , loudly roaring and o'erpowering all , 
Mount the thick Trojans up the Grecian wall ; 
Legions on legions from each side arise : 
Thick sound the keels ; the storm of arrows flies. 
Fierce on the ships above , the cars below, 
These wield the mace , and those the javelin throw. 

While thus the thunder of the battle rag'd , 
And labouring armies round the works engag'd ; 
Still in the tent Patroclus sat , to lend 
The good Euiypylus, his wounded friend. 



3o6 HOMER^S ILIA 1} . 

He sprinkles healing balms, to anguisk kind ,' 
And adds discourse, the medxine of the miruL- 
But when he saw, ascending up the fleet , 
Victorious Troy •, then , starting from his seat , 
With hitter groans his sorrows he exprest , 
He wrings his hands , he heats his manly breast. 
« Tho' yet thy state requires redress ( he cries ) , 
Depart I must : what horrors strike my eyes ! 
Charg'd with Achilles' high commands J go , 
A mournful witness of this scene of woe : 
I haste to urge him , by his country's care , 
To rise in arms , and shine again in war. 
Perhaps some favouring god his soul rna}^ bend ; 
The voice is powerful of a faithful friend, » 

He spoke ; and speaking , swifter than the wind , 
Sprung from the tent , and left the war behind. 
Th' embody 'd Greeks the tierce attack sustain , 
But strive , tho' numerous , to repulse in vain* 
Nor could the Trojans, thro' that firm array, 
Force, to the fleet and tents, th' impervious way. 
As when a shipwright , with Palladia!! art , 
Smooths the rough wood , and levels every part ; 
With equal hand he guides his whole design, 
By the just rule, and the directing line : 
The martial leaders, with like skill and care, 
Preserv'd their line , and equal kept the war. 
Brave deeds of arms thro' all the ranks were try 7 «J , 
And every ship sustain' d an equal tide. 
At one proud bark, high- towering o'er the fleet, 
Ajax the great , and godlike Hector meet ; 

tFor one bright prize the matchless chiefs contend ; 
Nor this the ships can fire , nor that defend*, 
One kept the shore , and one the vessel trod ; 
That fix'd as fate , this acted hy a god. 
The son of Clytius, in his daring hand, 
The deck approaching , shakes a fiaming brand ; 
But piere'd by Telamon's huge lance expires •, 
Thundering he falls , and drops th' extinguished fires. 
Great Hector view'd him with a sad survey, 
As stretch'd in dust before the stern he lay. 
«< Oh ! all of Trojan , all of Lycian race ! 
Stand to your arms , maintain Ibis arduous space , 



BOOK XV. $Oj 

Lo! where the son of royal Clytius lies , 
Ah ! save his arms , secure his obsequi ^ '. » 

This said, his eager javelin sought the foe : 
But Ajax shunn'd the meditated blow. 
]Vot vainly yet the forceful lance was thrown ; 
It stretch'd in dust unhappy Lycophron : 
An exile ioug, sustain' d at Ajax 7 hoard , 
A faithful servant to a foreign lord ; 
In peace, in war, for ever at his side , 
Near his lov'd master, as he liv'd, he dy'd. 
From the high "poop he tumbles on the sand , 
And lies a lifeless load along the land. ' 
With anguish Ajax views the piercing sight , 
And thus inflames his brother to the fight *• 

<c Teucer, behold! extended on the shore 
Our friend, our lov'd companion! now no more' 
Dear as a parent , with a parent's care 
To fight our wars, he left his .native air. 
This death deplord , to Hector's rage we owe ; 
Revenge , revenge it on the cruel foe. 
Where are these darts on which the fates attend? 
And where the bow which Phoebus taught to bend \ » 

Impatient Teucer. hastening to his aid , 
Before the chief his ample bow display 'd', 
The well-stor'd quiver on his shoulder hung : 
Then hiss'd his arrow , and the bow-string sung* 
Clytus , Pisenor's son , renown'd in fame , 
To thee , Polydamas ! an honour'd name , 
Drove thro 1 the thickest of th' embattled plains 
The startling steeds, and shook his eager reins. 
As all on glory ran his ardent mind , 
The pointed death arrests him from behind ; 
Thro' his fair neck the thrilling arrow flies; 
In youth's first bloom reluctantly he dies. 
Hurl'd from the lofty seat, at distance far, 
The headlong coursers spurn his empty car •, 
Till sad Polydamas the steeds restrain'd , 
And gave , Astynous , to thy careful hand ; 
Then, fir'd to vengeance , rush'd amidst the foe ; 
Piage edg'd his sword, and strengthened every blow. 

Once more bold Teucer, in his country's cause , 
At Hector's breast n chosen arrow draws', 



3o8 HOMERS ILIAD. 

And had the weapon found the destin'd way, 

Thy fall, great Trojan! had renown'd that day* 

But Hector was not doom'd to perish then : 

Th' all-wise disposer of the fates of men , 

Imperial Jove , his present death withstands? 

IS or was such glory due to Teucer's hands. 

At his full stretch , as the tough string he drew , 

Struck by an arm unseen , it hurst in two ; 

Down dropp'd the how ; the shaft with brazen head 

Fell innocent , and on the dust lay dead. 

Th' astonish'd archer to great Ajax cries f 

« Some god prevents our destin'd enterprize : 

Some god , propitious to the Trojan foe , 

Has , from my arm unfailing , struck the bow > 

Aud broke the nerve my hands had twin'd with art , 

Strong to impel the flight of many a dart. * 

^-« Since heaven commands it (Ajax made reply )> 
Dismiss the bow , and lay thy arrows by ; 
Thy arms no less suffice the lance to wield , 
And quit the quiver for the ponderous shield. 
In the first ranks indulge thy thirst of fame *, 
Thy brave example shall the rest inflame. 
Fierce as they are , by long successes vain , 
To force our fleet, or ev'n a ship to gain, 
Ask toil, and sweat, and blood : their utmost might 
Shall find its match —no more : 'tis ours to fight. » 

Then Teucer laid his faithless bow aside ; 
The four-fold buckler o'er his shoulder ty'd *, 
On his brave head a crested helm he plac'd , 
With nodding horse-hair formidably grac'd ; 
A dart, whose point with brass refulgent shines, 
The warrior wields; and his great brother joins. 

This Hector saw , and thus express'd his joy : 
« Ye troops of Lycia , Dardanus , and Troy ! 
Be mindful of yourselves, your ancient fame . 
And spread your glory with the navy's flame.. 
Jove is with us ; I saw his hand, but now, 
From the proud archer strike his vaunted bow. 
Indulgent Jove ! how plain thy favours shine , 
When happy nations bear the marks divine ! 
How easy then, to see the sinking state 
Of realms accurst , deserted , reprobate ! 



BOOK XV. 3Q9 

Such is the fate of Greece, and such is ours : 
Behold, ye warriors , and exert your powers. 
Death is the worst •, a fate which all must try ; 
And, for our country, 'tis a-bliss to die. 
The gallant man, tho' slain in fight he be, 
Yet leaves his nation safe , his children free; 
Fntails a debt on all the grateful state ; 
His own brave friends shall glory in his fate ; 
His wife live honour'd , all his race succeed , 
And late posterity enjoy the deed I u 

This rouz'd the soul in every Trojan breast. 
The godlike Ajax next his Greeks addrest : 

« How long , ye warriors of the Argive race , 
To generous x\rgos what a dire disgrace ! 
How long on these curs'd confines will ye lie , 
Yet undetermin'd , or to live , or die ! 
What hopes remain , what methods to retire , 
If once your \ T essels catch the Trojan fire! 
Mark how the flames approach, how near they fall, 
How Hector calls , and Troy obeys his call ! 
Not to the dance that dreadful voice invites , 
It calls to death, and all the rage of fights. 
'Tis now no time for wisdom or debates ; 
To your own hands are trusted all your fates ; 
And better far, in one decisive strife , 
One day should end our labour, or our life ; 
Than keep this hard-got inch of barren sands , 
Still press'd , and press'd by such inglorious hands. » 

The listening Grecians feel their leader's flame 3 
And every kindling bosom pants for fame^ 
Then mutual slaughters spread on either side ; 
By Hector here the Phocian Schedius dy'd ; 
There, pierc'd by Ajax, sunk Laodamas , 
Chief of the foot, of old Antenor's race. 
Polydamas laid Otus on the sand , 
The fierce commander of th' Epeian band. 
His lance bold Meges at the victor threw ; 
The victor stooping, from the death withdrew ! 
That valu'd life , O Phcebus ! was thy care ; 
But Croesmus' bosom took the flying spear : 
His corpse fell bleeding on the slippery shore; 
His radiant arms triumphant lieges bore* 



3iO HOMER'S ILIAD. 

Dolops , the son of Lampus , rashes on , 
Sprang from the race of old Laomedon, 
And fam'd for prowess in a well-fought (\M \ 
He pierc'd the centre of his sounding shieid : 
But Meges , Phyleus' ample breast-plate wore , 
Well known in light on Selles' winding shore ", 
For king Euphetes gave the golden mail , 
Compact , and firm with many a jointed scale , 
Which oft, in cities storm'd , and battles won , 
Had sav'd the father, and now saves the soil. 
Full at the Trojan's head he urg'd his lance , 
Where the high plumes above the helmet dance , 
New ting'd with Tyrian die : in dust below, 
Shorn from the crest, the purple honours glow. 
Meantime their fight the Spartan king survey'd , 
And stood by Meges' side , a sudden aid , 
Thro' Dolops' shoulder urg'd his forceful dart , 
Which held its passage thro' the panting heart , 
And issu'd at his breast. With thundering sound 
The warrior falls, extended on the ground. 
In rush the conquering Greeks to spoil the slain : 
But Hector's voice excites his kindred train ; 
The hero most, from Hicetaon sprung, 
Fierce Melanippus, gallant , brave , and young. 
He , ere to Troy the Grecians cross'd the main , 
Fed his large oxen on Percote's plain ; 
But when oppress'd , his country claim'd his care , 
Keturn'd to Ilion , and excell'd in war ; 
For this , in Priam's court he held his place , 
Belov'd no less than Priam's royal race. 
Him Hector singled , as his troops he led , 
And thus inflam'd him , pointing to the dead : 

« Lo Melanippus ! lo where Dolops lies : 
And is it thus our royal kinsman dies? 
O'ermatch'd he falls ; to two at once a prey, 
And lo ! they bear the bloody arms away ! 
Come on — a distant war no longer wage , 
But hand to hand thy country's foes engage , 
Till Greece at once , and all her glory end , 
Or Ilion from her towery height descend , 
Heav'd from the lowest stone ; and bury all 
In one sad sepulchre, one common fall. » 



BOOK XV. Oil 

Hector, this said, rush'd forward on the foes : 
With equal ardour Me lanippus glows : 
Then Ajax thus: c< O Greeks ! respect your fame , 
Respect yourselves , and learn an honest shame ; 
Let mutual reverence mutual warmth inspire , 
And catch from breast to breast the noble fire. 
On valour's side the odds of combat lie ; 
The brave live glorious , or lamented die ; 
The wretch that trembles in the field of fame , 
Meets death , and worse than death , eternal shame, * 

His generous sense he not in vain imparts *, 
It sunk, and rooted in the Grecian hearts. 
They join , they throng, they thicken at his call, 
And flank the navy with a brazen wall ; 
Shields touching shields , in order blaze above, 
And stop the Trojans , tho' impeli'd by Jove. 
The fiery Spartan first , with loud applause , 
Warms the bold son of Nestor in his cause. 
« Is there (he said) in arms a youth like you , 
So strong to fight, so active to pursue? 
Why stand you distant, nor attempt a deed* 
Lift the bold lance , and make some Trojan bleed. » 

He said ; and backward to the lines retir'd ; 
Forth rush'd the j T outh, with martial fury fir'd , 
Beyond the foremost ranks ; his lance he threw, 
And round the black battalions cast his view. 
The troops of Troy recede with sudden fear, 
While the swift javelin hiss'd along in air. 
Advancing Melanippus met the dart 
With his bold breast, and felt it in his heart : 
Thundering he falls; his falling arms resound, 
And his broad buckler rings against the ground. 
The victor leaps upon his prostrate prize : 
Thus on a roe the welbbreath'd beagle flies , 
And rends his side, fresh-bleeding with the dart 
The distant hunter sent into his heart. 
Observing Hector to the rescue flew ; 
Bold as he was , Antilochus withdrew. 
So when a savage , ranging o'er the plain , 
Has torn the shepherd's- dog, or shepherd swain; 
While, conscious of the deed, he glares around, 
And hears the gathering multitude resound, 



OI2 HOMERS ILIAD. 

Timely he flies the yet untasted food, 
And gains the friendly shelter of the wood : 
So fears the youth ; all Troy with shouts pursue , 
While stones and darts in mingled tempests flew ; 
But , enter'd in the Grecian ranks , he turns 
His manly breast, and with new fury burns. 

Now on the fleet the tides of Trojans drove, 
Fierce to fulfil the stern decrees of Jove : 
The sire of gods , confirming Thetis' prayer , 
The Grecian ardour quench'd in deep despair ; 
But lifts to glory Troy's prevailing bands , 
Swells all their hearts, and strengthens all their hands, 
On Ida's top he waits with longing eyes , 
To view the navy blazing to the sides ; 
Then, nor till then, the scale of war shall turn. 
The Trojans fly, and conquer'd Ilion burn. 
These fates revolv'd in his almighty mind, 
He raises Hector to the work design'd , 
Bids him with more than mortal fury glow , 
And drives him , like a lightning , on the foe. 
So Mars , when human crimes for vengeance call , 
Shakes his huge javelin , and whole armies fail. 
Not with more rage a conflagration rolls , 
Wraps the vast mountains, and involves the poles. 
He foams with wrath ; beneath his gloomy brow 
Like fiery meteors his red eye-balls glow : 
The radiant helmet on his temples burns, 
Waves when he nods , and lightens as he turns : 
For Jove his splendour round the chief had thrown , 
And cast the blaze of both the hosts on one. 
Unhappy glories ! for his fate was near, 
Due to stern Pallas , and Pelides' spear : 
Yet Jove deferr'd the death he was to pay, 
And gave what fate allow'd , the honours of a day! 

Now, ail on fire for fame, his breast , his eyes 
Burn at each foe , and single every prize ; 
Still at the closest ranks , the thickest fight , 
He points his ardour, and exerts his might. 
The Grecian phalanx , moveless as a tower, 
On all sides batter'd , yet resists his power: 
So some tall rock o'erhaugs the hoary main, 
By winds assail'd , by billows beat in vain, 



BOOK XV. 31J 

Lnniov'd it hears , above , the tempest, blow, 
And sees the watery mountains break below. 
Girt in surroundiug flames , he seems to fall 
Like fire from Jove , and bursts upon them all ; 
Bursts as a wave that from the clouds impends , 
And swell'd with tempests on the ship descends : 
White are the decks with foam ; the winds aloud 
Howl o'er the masts , and sing thro' every shroud : 
Pale , trembling , tir'd , the sailors freeze with fears , 
And instant death on every wave appears. 
So pale the Greeks the eyes of Hector meet , 
The chief so thunders , and so shakes the fleet. 

As when a lion rushing from his den , 
Amidst the plain of some wide-water'd fen , 
"Where numerous oxen , as at ease they feed , 
At large expatiate o'er the ranker mead ; 
Leaps on the herds before the herdsman's eyes : 
The trembling herdsman far to distance flies : 
Some lordly bull , the rest dispers'd and fled , 
He singles out , arrests , and lays him dead : 
Thus from the rage of Jove-like Hector flew 
All Greece in heaps ; but one he seiz'd and slew : 
Mycenian Periphes , a mighty name , 
In wisdom great , in arms well known to fame ; 
The minister of stern Eurystheus' ire 
Against Alcides , Copreus was his sire : 
The son redeem'd the honours of the race , 
A son as generous as the sire was base ; 
O'er all his country's youth conspicuous far 
In every virtue , or of peace or war ; 
But doom'd to Hector's stronger force to yield : 
Against the margin of his ample shield 
He struck his hasty foot : his heels up-sprung; 
Supine he fell; his brazen helmet rung. 
On the fall'n chief th' invading Trojan prest, 
And plung'd the pointed javelin in his breast. 
His circling friends, who strove to guard too late 
Th' unhappy hero , fled , or shar'd his fate. 

Chas'd from the foremost line, the Grecian train 
Now man the next , receding tow'rd the main : 
"Wedg'd in one body, at the tents they stand , 
Wall'd round with sterns , a gloomy desperate band. 

*4 



3l4 HOMERS ILIAD. 

Now rnanly shame forbids th' inglorious flight ; 
Now fear itself confines them to the fight : 
Man courage breathes in man •, but Nestor most , 
The sage preserver of the Grecian host , 
Exhorts, adjures , to guard these utmost shores , 
And by their parents , by themselves, implores. 

« O friends ! be men : your generous breasts inflame 
With mutual honour, and with mutual shame ! 
Think of your hopes, your fortunes *, all the care 
Your wives, your infants, and your parents share : 
Think of each living father's reverend head ; 
Think of each ancestor with glory dead ; 
Absent , by me they speak , by me they sue ; 
They ask their safety, and their fame , from you ; 
The gods their fates on this one action lay, 
And all are lost , if you desert the day. >» 

He spoke, and round him breath'd heroic fires; 
Minerva seconds what the sage inspires. 
The mist of darkness Jove around them threw , 
She clear'd , restoring all the war to view ; 
A sudden ray shot beaming o'er the plain , 
And shew'd the shores , the navy , and the main : 
Hector they saw , and all who fly, or fight , 
The scene wide opening to the blaze of light. 
First of the field , great Ajax strikes their eyes , 
His port majestic , and his ample size ! 
A ponderous mace with studs of iron crown'd , 
Full twenty cubits long, he swings around ; 
Nor fights like others , fix'd to certain stands , 
But looks a moving tower above the bands ; 
High on the decks , with vast gigantic stride , 
The godlike hero stalks from side to side. 
So when a horseman from the watery mead , 
SkilPd in the manage of the bounding steed , 
Drives four fair coursers , practis'd to obey, 
To some great city thro' the public way •, 
Safe in his art , as side by side they run , 
He shifts his seat , and vaults from one to one ; 
And now to this , and now to that he flies ; 
Admiring numbers follow with their eyes : 
From ship to ship thus Ajax swiftly flew, 
No less the wonder of the warring crew, 



i 



BOOK XV. 3l5 

As furious Hector thunder'd threats aloud, 

And rush'd enrag'd before the Trojan croud : 

Then swift invades the ships , whose beaky prores 

Lay rank'd contiguous on the bending shores : 

So the strong eagle from his airy height., 

Who marks the swans' or cranes' embody'd flight , 

Stoops down impetuous , while they light for food , 

And , stooping , darkens with his w T ings the flood. 

Jove leads him on with his almighty hand , 

And breathes fresh spirits in his following band. 

The warring nations meet, the battle roars , 

Thick beats the combat^on the sounding prores. 

Thou would'st have thought, so furious was their fire. 

No force could tame them , and no toil could tire 5 

As if new vigour from new fights the}' won, 

And the long battle was but then begun. 

Greece , yet unconquer'd , kept alive the war, 

Secure of death , confiding in despair *, 

Troy, in proud hopes , already view'd the main 

Bright with the blaze , and red with heroes slain 1 

Like strength is felt from hope and from despair, 

And each contends as his were all the war. 

'Twas thou , bold Hector ! whose resistless hand 
First seiz'd a ship on that contested strand \ 
The same which dead Frotesilaus bore, 
The first that touch'd th' unhappy Trojan shore : 
For this , in arms the warring nations stood, 
And bath'd their generous breasts with mutual blood. 
IV o room to poize the lance or bend the bow *, 
But hand to hand , and man to man , they grow : 
Wounded they wound •, and seek each other's hearts 
With faulchions , axes , swords, and shorten'd darts. 
The faulchions ring, shields rattle, axes sound, 
Swords flash in air, or glitter on the ground; 
With streaming blood the slippery shores are dy'd, 
And slaughter'd heroes swell the dreadful tide. 

Still raging Hector with his ample hand 
Grasps the high stern , and gives this loud command t 

« Haste, bring the flames ! the toil of ten long years 
Is finish'd , and the day desir'd appears ! 
This happy day with acclamations greet, 
Bright with destruction of yon hostile fleet. 



Bl6 HOMER'S ILIAD. BOOK XV. 

The coward counsels of a timorous throng 
Of reverend dotards , check'd our glory long ; 
Too long Jove lull'd us with lethargic charms , 
But now in peals of thunder calls to arms : 
In this great day he crowns our full desires, 
Wakes all our force , and seconds all our fires. » 

He spoke — The warriors , at his fierce command , 
Pour a new deluge on the Grecian band. 
Ev'n Ajax paus'd , so thick the javelins fly, 
Stept hack , and doubted or to live or die. 
Yet where the oars are placed , he stands to wait 
What chief approaching dares attempt his fate ; 
Ev'n to the last , his naval charge defends , 
Kow shakes his spear, now lifts , and now portends ; 
Ev'n yet , the Greeks with piercing shouts inspires , 
Amidst attacks, and deaths, and darts, and fires. 

« O friends! O heroes! names for ever dear, 
Once sons of Mars , and thunderbolts of war ! 
Ah ! yet be mindful of your old renown , 
Your great forefathers' virtues and your own. 
What aids expect you in this utmost strait ? 
What bulwarks rising between you and fate ? 
iNo aids , no bulwarks , your retreat attend , 
3No friends to help, no city to defend. 
This spot is all you have , to lose or keep ; 
There stand the Trojans, and here rolls the deep. 
3 Tis hostile ground you tread ; your native lands 
Far, far from hence ; your fates are in your hands. : 

Raging he spoke ; nor farther wastes his breath , 
But turns his javelin to the work of death. 
Whate'er bold Trojan arm'd his daring hands 
Against the sable ships with flaming brands , 
So well the chief his naval weapon sped, 
The luckless warrior at his stern lay dead : 
Full twelve, the boldest, in a moment fell , 
Sent by great Ajax to the shades of hell. 



THE ARGUMENT. 



The sixth battle : the acts and death of Patroclus* 

PATROCLUS ( in pursuance of the request of Nestor in the 
eleventh book ) in treats Achilles to suffer hiin to go to the 
assistance oi the Greeks with Achilles' troops and armour. 
He agrees to it •, hut at the same, time charges him to con- 
tent himself with rescuing the fleet , without farther pur- 
suit of the enemy. The armour, horses, soldiers, and officers 
of Achilles are described. A<hilles offers a libation for the 
success of his friend , after which Patroolus leads the Myr- 
midons to battle. The Trojans , at the sight of Patroclus 
in Achi'les' armour, taking him for that hero, are cast 
into the utmost consternation : he beats them off from the 
vessels. Hector himself flies. Sarpe. on is killed, though 
Jupiter was averse to his fate. Several other particulars of 
the battle are described ; in the heat of which , Pairoclus , 
neglecting the orders of Achi les, pursues the foe to the walls 
of Troy, where Apollo repulses and disarms him, Euphorbus 
wounds him, and Hector kills him, which concludes the book- 



THE 

ILIAD. 

BOOK XVI. 



uo warr'd both armies on tli* ensanguin'd shore , 
While the black vessels smok'd with human gore. 
Meantime Patroclus to Achilles flies ; 
The streaming tears fall copious from his eyes : 
Not faster trickling to the plains below , 
From the tall rock the sable waters flow. 
Divine Pelides , with compassion mov'd, 
Thus spoke . indulgent to his best-belov'd : 

« Patroclus, say, what grief thy bosom bears. 
That flows so fast in these unmanly tears \ 
No girl, no infant, whom the mother keeps 
From her lov'd breast, with fonder passion weeps : 
Not more the mother's soul that infant warms, 
Clung to her knees, and reaching at her arms , 
Than thou hast mine! Oh tell me, to what end 
Thy melticg sorrows thus pursue thy friend? 

« Griev'st thou for me, or for my martial bands 
Or come sad tidings from our native land? 
Our fathers live , our first, most tender care; 
Thy good Mencetius breathes the vital air, 
And hoary Peleus yet extends his days , 
PleasM in their age to hear their children's praise. 

« Or may some meaner cause thy pity claim ! 
Perhaps yon reliques of the Grecian name , 
Boom'd in their ships to sink by fire and sword, 
And pay the forfeit of their haughty lord \ 
Whate'er the cause, reveal thy secret care, 
And speak those sorrows which a friend would share. » 

A sigh , ttiat instant, from his bosom broke , 
Another foliow'd , and Patroclus spoke : 

« Let Greece at length with pity touch thy breast, 
Thyself a Greek; and, once, of Greeks the best! 



320 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

Lo ! every chief that might her fate prevent , 

Lies pierc'd with wounds, and bleeding in his tent. 

JEurypylus , Tydides , Atreus' son , ) 

And wise Ulysses, at the navy groan, / 

More for their country's wounds than for their own. ) 

Their pain, soft arts of pharmacy can ease , 

Thy breast alone no lenitives appease. 

« May never rage like thine my soul enslave , 
O great in vain ! unprofitably brave ! 
Thy country slighted in her last distress , 
What friend, what man, from thee shall hope redress? 
No — men unborn, and ages yet behind, 
Shall curse that fierce, that unforgiving mind. 

« O man unpitying! if of man thy race; 
But sure thou spring'st not from a soft embrace, 
Nor ever amorous hero caus'd thy birth, 
Nor ever tender goddess brought thee forth. 
Some rugged rock's hard entrails gave thee form , 
And raging seas produc'd thee in a storm , 
A soul well-suiting that tempestuous kind , 
So rough thy manners , so untam'd thy mind. 

« If some dire oracle thy breast alarm , 
If ought from Jove , or Thetis , stop thy arm , 
Some beam of comfort yet on Greece may shine ? 
If I but lead the Myrmidonian line : 
Clad in thy dreadful arms if I appear, 
Proud Troy shall tremble , and desert the war *. 
Without thy person Greece shall win the day, 
And thy mere image chase her foes away. 
Press'd by fresh forces , her o'erlabour'd train 
Shall quit the ships, and Greece respire again. » 

Thus , blind to fate , with supplicating breath 
Thou begg'st his arms , and in his arms thy death, 
Unfortunately good ! a boding sigh 
Thy friend return'd *, and with it this reply : 
« Patroclus ! thy Achilles knows no fears ; 
Nor words from Jove , nor oracles he hears ; 
Nor aught a mother's caution can suggest : 
The tyrant's pride lies rooted in my breast. 
My wrongs, my wrongs, my constant thought engage ? 
Those , my sole oracles , inspire my rage •, 



BOOK XVI. 32; 

I made him tyrant : gave him power to wrong 
Ev'n me : I felt it ; and shall feel it long. 
The maid , my black-ey'd maid , he forc'd away, 
Dae to the toils of many a well-fought day ; 
Due to my conquest of her father's reign ; 
Due to the votes of all the Grecian train. 
From me he forc'd her ; me , the bold and brave ; 
Disgraced, dishonour'd , like the meanest slave. 
But bear we this — the wrongs I grieve are past *, 
'Tis time our fury should relent at last : 
I fix'd its date ; the day I wish'd appears : f 

Now Hector to my ships his battle bears ; > 

The flames my ejes , the shouts invade my ears. \ 

Go , then , Patroclus ! court fair honour's charms 
In Troy's fam'd fields , and in Achilles' arms : 
Lead forth my martial Myrmidons to fight , 
Go, save the fleets, and conquer in my right. 
See the thin reliques of their baffled band , 
At the last edge of yon deserted land ; 
Behold all Ilion on their ships descends ; 
How the cloud blackens ! how the storm impends I 
It was not thus , when , at my sight amaz'd, 
Troy saw and trembled , as this helmet blaz'd : 
Had not th' iojurious king our friendship lost , 
Yon ample trench had bury'd half her host. 
No camps , no bulwarks , now the Trojans fear, 
Those are not dreadful, no Achilles there : 
No longer flames the lance of Tydeus' son *, 
No more your general calls his heroes on : 
Hector, alone , I hear ; his dreadful breath 
Commands your slaughter, or proclaims your death. 
Yet now, Patroclus, issue to the plain ; J 

Now save the ships , the rising fires restrain , \ 

And give the Greeks to visit Greece again. ^ 

But heed my words, and mark a friend's command, 
Who trusts his fame and honours in thy hand, 
And from thy deeds expects , th' Achaian host 
Shall render back the beauteous maid he lost : 
Rage uncontroul'd thro' all the hostile crew, 
But touch not Hector, Hector is my due. 
Tho' Jove in thunder should command the war, 
1)C just , consult iny glory, and forbear. 



32.2, HOMER^S ILIAD. 

The fleet once sav'd, desist from farther chase? 

Nor lead to Ilion's walls the Grecian race *, 

Some adverse god thy rashness may destroy ; 

Some god , like Phoebus , ever kind to Troy. 

Let Greece , redeem'd from this destructive strait , 

Do her own work; and leave the rest to fate. 

Oh ! would to all th' immortal powers above , 

Apollo , Pallas , and almighty Jove ! 

That not one Trojan might be left alive, 

And not a Greek of all the race survive ! 

Might only we the vast destruction shun ! 

And only we destroy th' accursed town ! » 

Such conference held the chiefs ; while on the strand 
Great Jove with conquest crown'd the Trojan band. 
Ajax no more the sounding storm sustain'd , 
So thick the darts an iron tempest rain'd : 
On his tir'd arm the weighty buckler hung ; 
His hollow helm with falling javelins rung ; 
His breath , in quick short pantings, comes and goes ; 
And paiuful sweat from all his members flows. 
Spent and o'erpower'd , he barely breathes at most ; 
Yet scarce an army stirs him from his post : 
Dangers on dangers all around him grow, 
And toil to toil , and woe succeeds to woe. 

Say , Muses , thron'd above the starry frame, 
How first the navy blaz'd with Trojan flame ? 

Stern Hector wavM his sword : and standing near 
"Where furious Ajax piy'd his ashen spear , 
Full on the lance a stroke so justly sped , 
That the broad faulchion lopp'd its brazen head : 
His pointless spear the warrior shakes in vain ; 
The brazen head falls sounding on the plain. 
Great Ajax saw, and own'd the hand divine, 
Confessing Jove , and trembling at the sign ; 
Waru'd , he retreats. Then swift from all sides pour 
The hissing brands ■, thick streams the fiery shower » 
O'er the high stern the curling volumes rise , 
And sheets of rolling smoke involve the skies. 

Divine Achilles view'd the rising flames, 
And smote his thigh , and thus aloud exclaims : 
« Arm , arm , Patroclus ! Lo , the blaze aspires I 
The glowing ocean reddens with the fires. 



BOOK XVI. D2D 

Arm , ere onr vessels catch the spreading flame : 
Arm , ere the Grecians he no more a name ; 
I haste to hring the troops. » — The hero said ; 
The friend with ardour and with jov obey'd. 

He cas'd his limhs in brass ; and rirst around 
His manly legs with silver buckles bound 
The clasping greaves ; then to his breast applies 
The flamy cuirass, of a thousand dyes : 
Emblaz'd with studs of gold his faulehiori shone 
In the rich belt , as in a starry zone : 
Achilles' shield his ample shoulders spread , 
Achilles' helmet nodded o'er his head : 
Adorn'd in all his terrible array , 
He flash'd around intolerable day. 
Alone, untouch'd , Pelides' javelin stands, 
Not to be pois'd but by Pelides' hands ; 
From Pelion's shady brow the plant entire 
Old Chiron rent , and shap'd it for his sire ; 
Whose son's great arm alone the weapon wields, 
The death of heroes , and the dread of fields. 

Then brave Automedon , an honour'd name , 
The second to his lord in love and fame , 
In peace his friend, and partner of the war, 
The winged coursers harness'd to the car. 
Xanthus and Balius , of immortal breed , 
Sprung from the wind , and like the wind in speed t 
Whom the wing'd harpy, swift Po.darge , bore, 
By Zephyr pregnant on the breezy shore. 
Swift Pedasus was added to their side , 
Once great Aethion's , now Achilles' pride , 
Who , like in strength, in swiftness, and in grace, 
A mortal courser , match'd th' immortal race. 

Achilles speeds from tent to tent , and warms 
His hardy Myrmidons to blood and arms. 
All breathing death , around their chief they stand , 
A glim, terrific, formidable band : 
Grim as voracious woJves , that seek the springs 
W hen scalding thirst their burning bowels wrings ; 
When some tall stag, fresh slaughter'd in the wood , 
Has drench'd their wide insatiate throats with hiood , 
To the black fount they rush , a hideous throng , 
With paunch distended, and with lolling tongue , 



32^ HOMER'S ILIAD. 

Fire fills their eyes, their black jaws belch the gore , 

And , gorg'd with slaughter , still they thirst for more. 

Like furious rush'd the Myrraidonian crew ; 

Such their dread strength, and such their deathful view 

High in the midst the great Achilles stands , 
Directs their order, and the war commands. 
He , lov'd of Jove, had launch'd for llion's shores 
Full fifty vessels, mann'd with fifty oars ; 
Five chosen leaders the fierce bands obey , 
Himself supreme in valour as in sway. 

First march' d Menestheus, of celestial birth , 
Deriv'd from thee , whose waters wash the earth , 
Divine Sperchius ! Jove-descended flood ! 
A mortal mother mixing with a god. 
Such was Menestheus , but miscall'd by fame , 
The son of Bonis that espous'd the dame. 

Eudorus next ; whom Polymele the gay , 
Fam'd in the graceful dance , produe'd to day. 
Her , sly Cyllenius lov'd , on her would gaze , 
As with swift step she form'd the running maze. 
To her high chamber, from Diana's quire , 
The god pursu'd her, urg'd , and crown'd his fire. 
The son confess'd his father's heavenly race , 
And heir'd his mother's swiftness in the chace. 
Strong Echeclaeus , blest in all those charms 
That pleas'd a god , succeeded to her arms ; 
3Vot conscious of her love , long hid from fame , 
With gifts of price he sought and won the dame : 
Her secret offspring to her sire she bare ; 
Her sire caress'd him with a parent's care. 

Pisander follow'd ; matchless in his art 
To wing the spear , or aim the distant dart ' r 
No hand so sure of all th' Emathian line , 
Or if a surer, great Patroclus ! thine. 

The fourth by Phcenix' grave command was gracM *, 
Laerces' valiant offspring led the last. 

Soon as Achilles with superior care 
Had call'd the chiefs , and order'd all the war, 
This stern remembrance to his troops he gave : 
<c Ye far-fam'd Myrmidons , ye fierce and brave ! 
Think with what threats you dar'd the Trojan throng , 
Think what reproach these ears endur'd so long : 



BOOK XVI. 3^5 

Stern son of Peleus ! thus ye us'd to say , 
While , restless , raging , in your ships you lay , 
Oh nurs'd with gall , unknowing how to yield ! 
Whose rage defrauds us of so fam'd a field ; 
If that dire fury must for ever burn , 
What make we here? Return, ye chiefs, return! 
Such were your words — Now, warriors, grieve no more*, 
Lo there the Trojans ! bathe your swords in gore ! 
This day shall give you all your soul demands ; 
Glut all your hearts ! and weary all your hands! » 

Thus while he rous'd the fire in every breast , 
Close , and more close , the listening cohorts prest ; 
Ranks wedg'd in ranks ; of arms a steely ring 
Still grows , and spreads, and thickens round the king. 
As when a circling wall the builder forms , 
Of strength defensive against winds and storms , 
Compacted stones the thickening work compose , 
And round him wide the rising structure grows : 
So helm to helm , and crest to crest they throng , 
Shield urg'd on shield, and man drove man along : 
Thick undistinguish'd pSumes, together join'd , 
Float in one sea , and wave before the wind. 

Far o'er the rest , in glittering pomp appear, 
There bold Automedon , Patroclus here ; 
Brother's in arms , with equal fury fir'd ; 
Two friends, two bodies with one soul inspir'd. 

But, mindful of the gods , Achilles went 
To the rich coffer in his shady tent : 
There lay on heaps his various garments roll'd ? 
And costly furs, and carpets stiff wit^ gold , 
The presents of the silver-footed dame. 
From thence he took a bowl , of antique frame , 
W T hich never man had stain d with ruddy wine , 
Nor rais'd in offerings to the powers divine , 
But Peleus son ; and Peleus' son to none 
Had rais'd in offerings but to Jove alone. 
This ting'd with sulphur, sacred first to flame , 
He purg'd , and wash'd it in the running stream. 
Then cleans'd his hands ; and , fixing for a space 
His eyes on heaven , his feet upon the place 
Of sacrifice , the purple draught he pour'd 
Forth in the midst •, and thus the god implor'd : 



32,6 HOMFR'S ILIAD. 

« O thou supreme ! high-thron'd all height above ! 
O great P<Tasgic , Dodoncean Jove ! 
Who 'midst surrounding frosts , and vapours chill , 
Presid'st on bleak Doclona's vocal hill : 
Whose groves , the Selli , race austere ! surround , 
Their feet unwash'd , their slumbers on the ground; 
Who hear , from rustling oaks , thy dark decrees *, 
And catch the fates, low-whisper'd in the breeze: 
Hear, as of old ! Thou ga\'st , at Thetis 7 prayer, 
Glory to me , and to the Greeks despair: 
Lo , to the dangers of the fighting field 
The best , the dearest of my friends , I yield : 
Though still determined , to my ships confin'd, 
Patroclus gone, I staj^ but half behind. 
Oh ! be his guard thy providential care , 
Confirm his heart, and string his arm to war: . 
Press'd by his single force , let Hector see 
Iiis fame in arms not owing all to me. 
But when the fleets are sav'dfrom foes and fire , 
Let him with conquest and renown retire : 
Preserve his arms , preserve his social train , 
And safe return him to these eyes again ! » 

Great Jove consents to half the chief's request , 
But heaven's eternal doom denies the rest ; 
To free the fleet was granted to his prayer, 
His safe return the winds dispers'd in air. 
Back to his tent the stern Achilles flies , 
And waits the combat with impatient eyes. 

Meanwhile the troops beneath Patroclus' care 
Invade the Trojans , and commence the war. 
As wasps, provok'd by children in their play , 
Pour from their mansions by the broad high-way , 
In swarms the guiltless traveller engage , 
Whet all their stings , and call forth all their rage ', 
All rise in arms , and , with a general cry , 
Assert their waxen domes , and buzzing progeny : 
Thus from the tents the fervent legion swarms , 
So loud their clamours , and so keen their arms ; 
Their raising rage Patroclus' breath inspires , 
W ho thus inflames them with heroic fires: 

« O warriors , partners of Achilles' praise ! 
Be mindful of your deeds in ancient days : 



BOOK XVI. 027 

Your godlike master let your acts proclaim , 
And add new glories to his mighty name. 
Think, your Achilles sees you fight : he hrave , 
And humhle the proud monarch whom you save* » 

Joyful they heard , and , kindliug as he spoke , 
Flew to the fleet, involv'd in fire and smoke. 
From shore to shore the doubling shouts resound , 
The hollow ships return a deeper sound. 
The war stood still , and all around them gaz'd , 
"When great Achilles' shining armour blaz'd : 
Troy saw, and thought the dread Achilles nigh ; 
At once they see , they tremble , and they fly. 
Then first thy spear, divine Patroclus I flew , 
Where the war rag'd, and where the tumult grew. 
Close to the stern of that fam'd ship , which bore 
Unblest Protesilaus to Ilion's shore , 
The great Pseonian, bold Pyrechmes , stood , 
\Yho led his bands from Axius' winding flood ; 
His shoulder-blade receives the fatal wound , 
The groaning warrior pants upon the ground. 
His troops , that see their country's glory slain , 
Fly diverse , scatter'd o'er the distant plain. 
Patroclus' arm forbids the spreading fires, 
And from the half-burn'd ship proud Troy retires: 
Clear'd from the smoke the joyful navy lies ; 
In heaps on heaps the foe tumultuous flies *, 
Triumphant Greece her rescu'd decks ascends , 
And loud acclaim the starry region rends. 
So when thick clouds inwrap the mountain's head , 
O'er heaven's expanse like one black ceiling spread ; 
Sudden the thunderer, with a flashing ray , 

Bursts thro' the dark ess , and lets down the day : 
The hills shine out the rocks in prospect rise , 

And streams , and vales, and forests strike the eyes ; 
The smiling scene wide opens to the sight, 

And all th' unmeasur'd aether flames with light. 
But Troy repuls'd, and scatter'd o'er the plains, 

Forc'd from the navy, yet the fight maintains. 

Now every Greek some hostile hero slew, 

But still the foremost , bold Patroclus flew *, 

As Arielycus had turn'd him round , 

Sharp in his thigh he felt the piercing wound ; 



D28 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

The brazen-pointed spear , with vigour thrown , 

The thigh transfii'd , and broke the brittle bone s 

Headlong he fell. Next, Thoas, was thy chance ; 

Thy breast, unartn'd, receiv'd the Spartan lance. 

Phylides' dart , as Amphiclus drew nigh , 

His blow prevented, and transpierc'd his thigh, 

Tore all the brawn , and rent the nerves away : 

In darkness and in death the warrior lay. 

In equal arms two sons of Nestor stand , 
And two bold brothers of the Lycian band : 
By great Antilochus , Atymnius dies , 
Pierc'd in the flank , lamented youth ! he lies. 
Kind Maris , bleeding in his brother's wound , 
Defends the breathless carcase on the ground : 
Furious he flies , his murderer to engage , 
But godlike Thrasymed prevents his rage , 
Between his arm and shoulder aims a blow ; 
His arm falls spouting on the dust below ; 
He sinks, with endless darkness covei'd o'er, 
And vents his soul , effus'd with gushing gore. 

Slain by two brothers , thus two brothers bleed , 
Sarpedon's friends , Amisodarus' seed ; 
Amisodarus, who , by furies led, 
The bane of men, abhorred Chimaera bred. 
SkilPd in the dart in vain , his sons expire , 
And pay the forfeit of their guilty sire. 

Stopp'd in the tumult , Cleobulus lies , 
Beneath Oileus' arm , a living prize ! 
A living prize not long the Trojan stood , 
The thirsty faulchion drank his reeking blood : 
Plung'd in his throat the smoking weapon lies , 
Black death , and fate unpitying , seal his eyes. 

Amid the ranks , with mutual thirst of fame , 
Lycon the brave , and fierce Peneleus, came ; 
In vain their javelins at each other flew, 
Now, met in arms , their eager swords they drew. 
On the plum'd crest of his Boeotian foe , 
The daring Lycon aim'd a noble blow : 
The sword broke short; but his , Peneleus sped 
Full on the juncture of the neck and head : 
The head , divided by a stroke so just , 
Hung by the skin : the body sunk to dust. 



BOOK XVI. 32$ 

O'ertaken Naemas by Merion bleeds , 
Pierc'd thro' the shoulder as he mounts his steeds ; 
Back from the car he tumbles to the ground , 
His swimming eyes eternal shades surround. 
Next Erymas was doomed his fate to feel , 
His open mouth receiv'd the Cretan steel : 
Beneath the brain the point a passage tore , 
Crush'd the thin bones , and drown'd the teeth in gore ! 
His mouth , his eyes ^ his nostrils , pour a flood •, 
He sobs his soul out in the gush of blood. 

As when the flocks , neglected by the swain , 
Or kids , or lambs , lie scatter'd o'er the plain , 
A troop of wolves th' unguarded charge survey, 
And rend the trembling , unresisting prey : 
Thus on the foe the Greeks impetuous came ; 
Troy fled , unmindful of her former fame. 

But still at Hector godlike Ajax aim'd , 
Still , pointed at his breast , his javelin flam'd : 
The Trojan chief, experiene'd in the field , 
O'er his broad shoulder spread the massy shield , 
Observ'd the storm of darts the Grecians pour, 
And on his ringing buckler caught the shower. 
He sees for Greece the scale of conquest rise , 
Yet stops, and turns, and saves his lov'd allies. 

As when the hand of Jove a tempest forms , 
And rolls the clouds to blacken heaven with storms, 
Dark o'er the fields th' ascending vapour flies , 
And shades the sun, and blots the golden skies : 
So from the ships , along the dusky plain , 
Dire Flight and Terror drove the Trojan train. 
Ev'n Hector fled ; thro' heaps of disarray 
The fiery coursers fore'd their lord away, 
While far behind his Trojans fall confus'd , 
Wedg'din the trench , in one vast carnage bruis'd. 
Chariots on chariots roll ; the clashing spokes 
Shock ; while the madding steeds break short their yokes . 
In vain they labour up the steepy mound , 
Their charioteers lie foaming on the ground. 
Fierce on the rear, with shouts , Patroclus flies*, 
Tumultuous clamours fill the fields and skies • 
Thick drifts of dust, involve their rapid flight \ 
Clouds rise on clouds , and heaven is snatch'd from sight . 



OJO 

Th' affrighted steeds , their dying lords cast down , 

Scour o'er the fields , aud stretch to reach the town. 

Loud o'er the rout was heard the victor's cry , 

Where the war bleeds, and where the thickest die; 

Where horse , and arms , and chariots , lie o'erthrown , 

And bleeding heroes under axles groan. 

No stop, no check, the steeds of Peleus knew ; 

From bank to bank th' immortal coursers flew ; 

High-bounding o'er the fosse; the whirling car 

Smokes thro' the ranks , o'ertakes the flying war, 

And thunders after Hector ; Hector flies , 

Patroclus shakes his lance ; but fate denies. 

Not with less noise, with less impetuous force , 

The tide of Trojans urge their desperate course , 
Than when in autumn Jove his fury pours , 

And earth is loaden with incessant showers ; 
When guilty mortals break th' eternal laws, 
Or judges, brib'd , betray the righteous cause ; 
From their deep beds he bids the rivers rise , 

And opens all the flood-gates of the skies : 

Th' impetuous torrents from their hills obey, 

Whole fields are drown'd , and mountains swept away ; 

Loud roars the deluge till it meets the main , 

And trembling man sees all his labours vain. 

And now the chief, the foremost troops repeli'd , 
Back to the ships his destin'd progress held , 
Bore down half Troy in his resistless way , 
And fore'd the routed ranks to stand the day. 
Between the space where silver Simois flows , 
Where lay the fleets , and where the rampires rose , 
All grim in dust and blood , Patroclus stands , 
And turns the slaughter on the conquering bands. 
First Pronous dy'd beneath his fiery dart , 
Which piere'd below the shield his valiant heart. 
Thestor was next ; who saw the chief appear , 
And fell the victim of his coward fear ; 
Shrunk up he sat , with wild and haggard eye , 
Nor stood to combat , nor had force to fly : 
Patroclus mark'd him as he shunn'd the war, 
And with unmanly tremblings shook the car , 
And dropp'd the flowing reins. Him 'twixt the jaws 
The javelin sticks , and from the chariot draws. 



BOOK XVI. 33* 

As on a rock that over-hangs the main , 
An angler, studious of the line and cane, 
Some mighty fish draws panting to the shore *, 
Not with less ease the harhed javelin bore 
The gaping dastard : as the spear was shook ? 
He fell , and life his heartless breast forsook. 

Next on Eryalus he flies ; a stone, 
Large as a rock , was by his fury thrown ; 
Full on his crown the ponderous fragment fiew, 
And burst the helm , and cleft the head in two : 
Prone to the ground the breathless warrior fell , 
And death involv'd him with the shades of hell. 
Then low in dust Epaltes , Echius , lie *, 
Ipheas , Evippus, Polymelus , die *, 
Amphoterus and Erymas succeed ; 
And last Tlepolemus and Pyres bleed* 
Where'er he moves , the growing slaughters spread 
In heaps on heaps; a monument of dead. 

V, hen now Sarpedon his brave friends beheld 
Groveling in dust , and gasping on the field , 
With this reproach his Hying host he warms : 
« Oh stain to honour ! oh disgrace to arms ! 
Forsake , inglorious , the contended plain ! 
This hand , unaided , shall the war sustain : 
The task be mine , this hero's strength to try, 
W ho mows whole troops , and makes an army fly. » 

He spake ; and , speaking , leaps from off the car ; 
Patroclus lights , and sternly waits the war 
As when two vultures on the mountain's height 
Stoop with resounding pinions to the fight ; 
They cuff, they tear, they raise a screaming cry : 
The desert echoes , and the rocks reply : 
The warriors thus , oppos'd in arms , engage 
With equal clamours , and with equal rage. 

Jove view'd the combat , whose event foreseen , 
He thus bespoke his sister and his queen : 
« The hour draws on ; the destinies ordain , 
My godlike son shall press the Phrygian plain : 
Already on the veige of death he stands , 
His life is ow'd to fierce Patroclus' hands. 
What passions in a parent's breast debate ! 
Say , shall I snatch him from impending fate , 



032 HOMER 1 S ILIAD* 

And send him safe to Lycia , distant far 
From all the dangers and the toils of war ? 
Or to his doom my bravest offspring yield , 
And fatten with celestial blood the field ? » 

Then thus the goddess with the radiant eyes : 
« "What words are these ? O sovereign of the skies! 
Short is the date prescrib'd to mortal man ; ) 

Shall Jove , for one , extend the narrow span , > 

Whose bounds were fix'd before his race began? ) 

How many sons of gods , foredoom'd to death , 
Before proud Ilion must resign their breath ! 
Were thine exempt , debate would rise above , 
And murmuring powers condemn their partial Jove. 
Give the bold chief a glorious fate in fight , 
And when th' ascending soul has wing'd her flight , 
Let sleep and death convey, by thy command , 
The breathless body to his native land. 
His friends and people , to his future praise , 
A marble tomb and pyramid shall raise , 
And lasting honours to his asbes give ; 
His fame , 'tis all the dead can have , shall live. » 

She said; the cloud-compeller overcome, 
Assents to fate , and ratifies the doom. 
Then , touched with grief , the weeping heavens distill'd 
A shower of blood o'er all the fatal field; 
The god , his eyes averting from the plain , ) 

Laments his son , predestined to be slain > 

Far from the Lycian shores , his happy native reign. j 

Now met in arms , the combatants appear , 
Each heav'd the shield , and pois'd the lifted spear : 
From strong Patroclus' hand the javelin fled , 
And pass'd the groin of valiant Thrasymed ; 
The nerves unbrac'd , no more his bulk sustain, 
He falls , and falling bites the bloody plain. 
Two sounding darts the Lycian leader threw ; 
The first aloof with erring fury flew , 
The next transpierced Achilles' mortal steed , 
The generous Pedasus , of Theban breed ; 
Fix'd in the shoulder's joint, he reel'd around , 
Roll'd in the bloody dust , andpaw'd the slippery ground. 
His sudden fall th' entangled harness broke : 
Each axle crackled , and the chariot shook : 



book xvi. 333 

When bold Automedon , to disengage 
The starting coursers , and restrain their rage , 
Divides the traces with his sword , and freed 
Th' incumber'd chariot from the dying steed : 
The rest move on , obedient to the rein ; 
The car rolls slowly o'er the dusty plain, 

The towering chiefs to fiercer fight advance, 
And first Sarpedon whirl'd his weighty lance , 
Which o'er the warrior's shoulder took its course , 
And spent in empty air its dying force. 
Not so Patroclus* never-erring dart ; 
Aim'd at his breast, itpierc'd the mortal part 
W T here the strong fibres bind the solid heart. 
Then , as the mountain oak , or poplar tall , 
Or pine , fit mast for some great admiral , 
Nods to the axe , till with a groaning sound 
It sinks , and spreads its honours on the ground i 
Thus fell the king •, and , laid on earth supine , 
Before his chariot stretch'd his form divine ; 
He grasp'd the dust distain'd with streaming gore , 
And, pale in death, lay groaning on the shore. 
So lies a bull beneath the lion's paws , 
While the grim savage grinds with foamy jaws 
The trembling limbs, and sucks the smoking blood ; 
Deep groans , and hollow roars , rebellow thro' the wood 

Then to the leader of the Lycian band 
The dying chief addrest his last command : 
« Glaucus , be bold ; thy task be first to dare 
The glorious dangers of destructive war, 
To lead my troops, to combat at their head , 
Incite the living , and supply the dead. 
Tell them, I charged them with my latest breath 
Not unreveng'd to bear Sarpedon's death. 
What grief, what shame must Glaucus undergo, 
If these spoil'd arms adorn a Grecian foe ? 
Then as a friend , and as a warrior, fight ; 
Defend my body , conquer in my right ; 
That , taught by great examples , all may try 
Like thee to vanquish , or like me to die. » 

He ceas'd ; the fate suppress'd his labouring breath, 
And his eyes darken'd with the shades of death. 



334 homer's iljad. 

TV insulting victor with disdain bestrode 

The prostrate prince , and on his bosom trode ; 

Then drew the weapon from his panting heart, 

The reeking fibres clinging to the dart *, 

From the wide wound gush'd out a stream of blood , 

And the soul issu'd in the purple flood. 

His flying steeds the Myrmidons detain , 
Unguided now, their mighty master slain. 
All impotent of aid , transfix'd with grief, 
Uuhappy Glaucus heard the dying chief: 
His painful arm , jet useless with the smart 
Inflicted late by Teucer's deadly dart, 
Supported on his better hand he staid ; 
To Phcebus then, 'twas ail he could, he pray'd. 

« All- seeing monarch ! whether Lycia's coast , 
Or sacred Ilion , thy bright presence boast , 
Powerful alike to ease the wretch's smart ; 
Oh hear me ! god of every healing art ! 
Lo , stiff with clotted blood , and pierc'd with pain , 
That thrills my arm , and shoots thro' every vein , 
I stand unable to sustain the spear, 
And sigh at distance from the glorious war. 
Low in the dust is great Sarpedon laid , 
IS T or Jove vouchsafed his hapless offspring aid ! 
But thou, O god of health ! thy succour lend , 
To guard the reliques of my slaughter'd friend. 
For thou , tho' distant , canst restore my might , 
To head my Lyciaus^ and support the fight. » 

Apollo heard', and, suppliant as he stood , 
His heavenly hand restrain'd the flux of blood; 
He drew the dolours from the wounded part, 
And breath'd a spirit in his rising heart. # 
Kenew'd by art divine , the hero stands , 
And owns th' assistance of immortal hands. 
First to the fight his native troops he warms , 
Then loudly calls on Troy's vindictive arms ; 
With ample strides he stalks from place to place ; 
Now fires Agenor, now Poly damas ; 
iEneas next , and Hector he accosts ; 
Inflaming thus the rage of all their hosts : 

« W hat thoughts , regardless chief! thy breast employ ? 
Oh too forgetful of the friends of Troy ! 



book xvi. 335 

Those generous friends , who , from their country far, 

Breathe their brave souls out iu another's war. 

See ! where in dust the great Sarpedon lies , 

In action valiant , and in counsel wise. 

Who guarded right , and kept his people free ; 

To all his Lycians lost , and lost to thee I 

Stretch'd by Palrocrus' arm on ycuder plains, 

O save from hostile rage his lov'd remains : 

Ah let not Greece his couquer'd trophies boast , 

Nor on his corpse leven^e her heroes lost. >* 
fie spoke : each leader in his grief partook , 

Troy, at the less , thro' all her legions shook. 

Transfix'd with deep regret , they view'd o'er thrown 

At once his country's pillar, and their own; 

A chief who led to Troy's beleaguer'd wall 

A host of heroes , and outshin'd them all. 

Fir'dthev rush on; first Hector seeks the foes, 

And with superior vengeance greatly glows. 
But o'er the dead the fierce Patroclus stands , 

And , rouzing Ajax , rouz'd the listening bands. 
« Heroes, be men ! be what you were before ; 

Or weigh the great occasion , and be more. 

The chief who taught our lofty walls to yield, 

Lies pale in death, extended on the held. 

To guard his body Troy in numbers flies ; 

'Tis half the glory to maintain our prize. 

Haste , strip his arms , the slaughter round him spread } 

And send the living Lycians to the dead, w 

The heroes kindle at his fierce command ; 
The martial squadrons close on either hand : 
Here Troy and Lycia charge with loud alarms , 
Thessalia there , and Greece , oppose their arms 
With horrid shouts they circle round the slain : 
The clash of armour rings o'er all the plain. 
Great Jove , to swell the horrors of the fight, 
O'er the fierce armies pours pernicious night , 
And round his son confounds the warring hosts , 
His fate ennobling with a crowd of ghosts. 

ISow Greece gives way, and great Epigeus falls ; 
Agacleus' son , from Budium's lofty walls ; 
Who , chas'd for murder thence , a suppliant came 
To Peleus and the silver-footed dame ; 



336 homer's ILIAD. 

IS T ow sent to Troy, Achilles' arms to aid . 

He pays due vengeance to his kinsman's shade. 

Soon as his luckless hand had touch'd the dead , 

A rock's large fragment thunder'd on his head ; 

Hurl'd by Hectorean force , it cleft in twain 

His shatter'd helm , and stretch'd him o'er the slain. 

Fierce to the van of fight Patrocius came ; 
And , like an eagle darting at his game , 
Sprung on the Trojan and the Lycian band : 
What grief thy heart , what fury urg'd thy hand , 
Oh generous Greek ! when , with full vigour thrown , 
At Sthenelaus flew the weighty stone , 
Which sunk him to the dead : when Troy, too near 
That arm , drew back ; and Hector Jearn'd to fear. 
Far as an able hand a lance can throw,- 
Or at the lists , or at the fighting foe ; 
So far the Trojans from their lines retir'd ; 
Till Glaucus , turning , all the rest inspir'd. 
Then Bathyclaeus fell beneath his rage , 
The only hope of Chalcon's trembling age : 
Wide o'er the land was stretch'd his large domain . 
With stately seats , and riches , blest in vain : 
Him, bold with youth, and eager to pursue 
The flying Lycians , Glaucus met , and slew ; 
Pierc'd thro' the bosom with a sudden wound , 
He fell, and, falling, made the fields resound. 
Th' Achaians sorrow for their hero slain ; 
With conquering shouts the Trojans shake the plain ? 
And croud to spoil the dead ; the Greeks oppose ; 
An iron circle round the carcase grows. 

Then brave Laogonus resign'd his breath , 
Dispatch'd by Merion to the shades of death : 
On Ida's holy hill he made abode , 
The priest of Jove, and honour'd like his god. 
Between the jaw and ear the javelin went; 
The soul , exhaling , issu'd at the vent. 
His spear iEneas at the victor threw , 
W ho stooping forward from the death withdrew ; 
The lance hiss'd harmless o'er his covering shield , 
And trembling struck, and rooted in the field; 
There yet scarce spent, it quivers on the plain, 
Sent by the great /Eneas' arm in vain. 



BOOK XVI. 337 

cc Swift as thou art , ( the raging hero cries ) 
And skill'd in dancing to dispute the prize , 
My spear, the destin'd passage had it found , 
Had fix'd thy active vigour to the ground. » 

— « Oh valiant leader of the Dardan host ! 
(Insulted Merion thus retorts the boast) 
Strong as you are, 'tis mortal force you trust, 
An arm as strong may stretch thee in the dust. 
And if to this my lance thy fate be given , 

Vain are thy vaunts; success is still from heaven; 
This instant sends thee down to Pluto's coast , 
Mine is the glory, his thy parting ghost. » 

— a O friend ! (Menoetius' son this answer gave) 
With words to combat , ill befits the brave ; 

Not empty boasts the sons of Troy repell , 
Your swords must plunge them to the shades of hell. 
To speak, beseems the council ; but tG dare 
In glorious action, is the task of war. » 

This said , Patroclus to the battle flies ; 
Great Merion follows , and new shouts arise : 
Shields , helmets , rattle , as the warriors close ; 
And thick and heavy sounds the storm of blows. 
As thro' the shrilling vale, or mountain ground, 
• The labours of the woodman's axe resound ; 
Blows following blows are heard re-echoing wide, 
AYhile crackling forests fall on every side : 
Thus echo'd all the fields with loud alarms, 
So fell the warriors , and so rung their arms. 

Now great Sarpedon , on the sandy shore, 
His heavenly form defac'd with dust and gore , 
And stuck with darts by warring heroes shed , 
Lies undistinguish'd from the vulgar dead. 
His long-disputed corpse the chiefs enclose ; 
On every side the busy combat grows ; 
Thick as beneath some shepherd's thatch'd abode ? 
The pails high-foaming with a milky flood, 
The buzzing flies, a persevering train, 
Incessant swarm , and chas'd, return again. 

Jove view'd the combat with a stern survey, 
And eyes that flash'd intolerable day. 
Fix'd on the field his sight , his breast debates 
The vengeance due, and meditates the fates ; 

i5 



338 HOMER^S ILIAD. 

Whether to urge their prompt effect, and call 
The force of Hector to Patroclus' fall , 
This instant see his short- liv'd trophies won , 
And stretch him breathless on his slaughtered son ; 
Or 3 r et, with many a soul's untimely flight , 
Augment the fame and horror of the tight. 
To crown Achilles' valiant friend with praise 
At length he dooms ; and , that his last of days 
Shall set in glory , bids him drive the foe ; 
Nor unattended see the shades below. 
Then Hector's mind he fills with dire dismay; 
He mounts his car, and calls his hosts away. 
Sunk with Troy's heavy fates , he sees decline 
The scales of Jove , and pants with awe divine. 

Then , nor before , the hardy Lycians fled , 
And left their monarch with the common dead; 
Around , in heaps on heaps , a dreadful wall 
Of carnage rises , as the heroes fall ; 
So Jove decreed! at length the Greeks obtain 
The prize contested ? and despoil the slain. 
The radiant arms are by Patroclus borne , 
Patroclus' ships the glorious spoils adorn. 

Then thus to Phoebus, in the realms above, 
Spoke from his throne the cloud-compelling Jove: 
ti Descend, my Phoebus! on the Phrygian plain, 
And from the fight convey Sarpedon slain ; 
Then bathe his body in the crystal flood , 
With dust dishonour'd , and deform'd with blood : 
O'er all his limbs ambrosial odours shed , 
And with celestial robes adorn the dead. 
Those rites discharg'd , his sacred corpse bequeath 
To the soft arms of silent Sleep and Death : 
They to his friends the mournful charge shall bear, 
His friends a tomb and pyramid shall rear; 
What honours mortals after death receive , 
r Xhose unavailing honours we may give ! » 

Apollo bows , and from mount Ida's height 
Swift to the field precipitates his flight ; 
Thence from the war the breathless hero bore , 
Veil'd in a cloud, to silver Simois' shore; 
There bath'd his honourable wounds , and drest 
His manly members in th' immortal vest; 



BOOK XVI. 33^ 

And with perfumes of sweet ambrosial dews , 
Restores his freshness , and his form renews. 
Then Sleep and Death, two twins of winged race, 
Of matchless swiftness , but of silent pace , 
Receiv'd Sarpedon, at the god's command, 
And in a moment reach' d the Lycian land ! 
The corpse amidst his weeping friends they laid , 
Where endless honours wait the sacred shade. 

Meanwhile Patroclus pours along the plains , 
With foaming coursers , and with loosen'd reins. 
Fierce on the Trojan and the Lycian crew, 
Ah blind to fate ! thy headlong fury flew : 
Against what fate and powerful Jove ordain , 
Vain was thy friend's command , thy courage vain. 
For he , the god , whose counsels uncontroul'd 
Dismay the mighty, and confound the bold ; 
The god who gives , resumes , and orders all , 
He urg'd thee on , and urg'd thee on to fall. 

Who first , brave hero ! by that arm was slain , 
Who last , beneath thy vengeance , press'd the plain ; 
When heaven itself thy fatal fury led , 
And call'd to fill the number of the dead? 
Adrestus first ; Autonous then succeeds ; 
Echeclus follows ; next young Megas bleeds ; 
Epistor, Menalippus , bite the ground ; 
The slaughter, Elasus and Mulius crown'd : 
Then sunk Pylartes to eternal night; 
The rest , dispersing , trust their fates to flight. 

Now Troy had stoop'd beneath his matchless power, 
But flaming Phcebus kept the sacred tower. 
Thrice at the battlements Patroclus strook, 
His blazing ^Egis thrice Apollo shook ; 
He try'd the fourth ; when bursting from the cloud , 
A more than mortal voice was heard aloud. 

« Patroclus ! cease ; this heaven -defended wall 
Defies thy lance , not fated yet to fall : 
Thy friend j thy greater far, it shall withstand ; 
Troy shall not stoop ev'n to Achilles' hand. » 

So spoke the god who darts celestial fires : 
The Greek obeys him , and with awe retires. 
While Hector, checking at the Scaean gates 
His pauting coursers , in his breast debates , 



t?4° HOMEPCS ILIAD. 

Or in the field his forces to employ, 

Or draw the troops within the walls of Troy. 

Thus while he thought, heside him Phoebus stood. 

In Asius' shape , who reign'd by Sangar's flood *, 

Thy brother, Hecuba! from Dymas sprung, 

A valiant warrior, haughty, bold, and young. 

Thus he accosts him : « What a shameful sight ! 

Gods ! is it Hector that forbears the fight ? 

Were thine my vigour, this successful spear 

Should soon convince thee of so false a fear. 

Turn then, ah turn thee to the field of fame, 

And in Patroclus' blood efface thy shame. 

Perhaps Apollo shall thy arms succeed, 

And heaven ordains him by thy lance to bleed. » 

So spoke th' inspiring god ; then took his flight ., 
And plung'd amidst the tumult of the fight. 
He bids Cebrion drive the rapid car j 
The lash resounds , the coursers rush to war. 
The god the Grecians 1 sinking souls deprest , 
And pour'd swift spirits thro' each Trojan breast. 

Patroclus lights , impatient for the fight ; 

A spear his left, a stone employs his right : 

With all his nerves he drives it at the foe ; 

Pointed above , and rough and gross below : 

The falling ruin crush' d Cebrion's head , 

The lawless offspring of king Priam's bed ; 

His front , brows , eyes , one undistinguish'd wound *, 

The bursting balls drop sightless to the ground. 

The charioteer, while yet he held the rein , 

Struck from the car, falls lieadlong on the plain. 

To the dark shades the soul unwilling glides , 

W^hile the proud victor thus his fall derides : 

«Good heavens! what active feats yon artist shows 5 

What skilful divers are .our Phrygian foes ! 

Mark with what ease they sink into the sand ! 

Pity ! that all their practice is by land ! » 
Then rushing sudden on his prostrate prize, 

To spoil the carcase fierce Patroclus flies ; 

Swift as a lion , terrible and bold , 

That sweeps the fields , depopulates the fold ; 

Pierc'd thro' the dauntless heart, then tumbles slain ; 

And from his fatal courage finds his bane. 



i 



BOOR XVI. 34* 

At once bold Hector, leaping from his car, 

Defends the body, and provokes the war. 

Thus for some slaughter'd hind , with equal rage, 

Two lordly rulers of the wood engage; 

Stung with fierce hunger, each the prey invades , 

And echoing roars rebellow thro' the shades. 

Stern Hector fastens on the warrior's head, 

And by the foot Patroclus drags the dead. 

While all around , confusion , rage , and fright, 

Mix the contending hosts in mortal fight. 

So, pent by hills, the wild winds roar aloud 

In the deep bosom of some gloomy wood; 

Leaves, arms , and trees , aloft in air are blown , 

The broad oaks crackle, and the sylvans groan : 

This way and that the rattling thicket bends , 

And the whole forest in one crash descends. ? 

Not with less noise , with less tumultuous rage , 

In dreadful shock the mingled hosts engage : 

Darts shower'd on darts , now round the carcase ring ; 
Now flights of arrows bounding from the string : 

Stones follow stones; some clatter on the fields , 
Some , hard and heavy, shake the sounding shields ; 
But where the rising whirlwind clouds the plains, 1 

Sank in soft dust the mighty chief remains , > 

And , stretch'd in death , forgets the guiding reins ! 5 

Now, flaming from the zenith , Sol had driven 
His fervid orb thro' half the vault of heaven ; 
While on each host with equal tempest fell 
The showering darts, and numbers sunk to hell. 
But when his evening wheels o'erhung the main, 
Glad conquest rested on the Grecian train. 
Then from amidst the tumult and alarms, 
They draw the ronquer'd corpse, and radiant arms. 
Then rash Patroclus with new fury glows , 
And , breathing slaughter, pours amid the foes. 
Thrice on tbe press like Mars himself he flew, 
And thrire three heroes at each onset slew. 
There ends thy glory ! there the fates untwine 
The last black remnant of so bright a line ; 
Apollo dreadful stops thy middle way ; 
Death calls , and heaven allows no longer day ! 



34^ HOMER'S ILIAD. 

For lo ! the god , in dusky clouds enshrin'd , 
Approaching, dealt a staggering blow behind. 
The weighty shock his neck and shoulders feel ; 
His eyes flash sparkles , his stunn'd senses reel 
In giddy darkness : far to distance Hung , 
His hounding helmet on the champaign rung. 
Achilles' plume is stain'd with dust and gore ; 
That plume , which never stoop'd to earth before ; 
Long us'd , untouched , in fighting fields to shine , 
And shed the temples of the man divine. 
Jove dooms it now on Hector's helm to nod ; 
Wot long — for fate pursues him , and the god. 

His spear in shivers falls : his ample shield 
Drops from his arm : his baldrick strows the field : 
The corslet his astonish'd breast forsakes t 
Loose is each joint ; each nerve with horror shake*. 
Stupid be stares, and all-assistless stands : 
Such is the force of more than mortal hands! 

A Dardan youth there was, well known to fame , 
From Pan thus sprung , Euphorbus was his name ; 
Fam'd for the manage of the foaming horse , 
Skill'd in the dart , and matchless in the course : 
Full twenty knights he tumbled from the car, 
"While yet he learn'd his rudiments of war. 
His venturous spear first drew the hero's gore : 
He struck , he wounded , but he durst no more : 
JVor, tho 7 disarm'd , Patroclus' fury stood : 
But swift withdrew the long protended wood *, 
And turn'd him short , and herded in the croud. 
Thus , by an arm divine , and mortal spear, 
Wounded at once , Patroclus yields to fear, 
Ketires for succour to his social train , 
And flies the fate , which heaven decreed , in vain. 
Stern Hector, as the bleeding chief he views , 
Breaks thro' the ranks, and his retreat pursues : 
The lance arrests him with a mortal wound; 
He falls, earth thunders , and his arms resound. 
With him all Greece was sunk ; that moment all 
Her yet-surviving heroes seem'd to fall. 
So , scorch'd with heat , along the desert shore , 
The roaming lion meets a bristly boar, 



BOOK XV I. 343 

Fast by the spring : they both dispute the flood , 
With flaming eyes , and jaws besmear'd with blood ; 
At length the sovereign savage wins the strife , 
And the torn hoar resigns his thirst and life. 
Patroclus thus , so many chiefs overthrown , 
So many lives tffus'd, expires his own. 
As dying now, at Hector's feet he lies , 
He sternly views him , and triumphing cries : 

« Lie there, Patroclus ! and with thee, the joy 
Thy pride once promis'd, of subverting Troy ; 
The fancy 'd scenes of Ilion wrapt in flames , 
And thy soft pleasures serv'd with captive dames ! 
Unthinking man ! I fought , those towers to free , 
And guard that beauteous race from lords like thee ', 
But thou a prey to vultures shalt be made *, 
Thy own Achilles cannot lend IIjco aid ; 
Tho' much at parting that great chief might say, 
And much enjoin thee, this important day. 
Return not , my brave friend , ( perhaps he 6aid ) 
Without the bloody arms of Hector dead. 
He spoke, Patroclus rnarch'd, and thus he sped ! >> 

Supine and wildly gazing on the skies , 
With faint , expiring breath, the chief replies : 

« Vain boaster! cease , and know the powers divine: 
Jove's and Apollo's is this deed , not thine : 
To heaven is ow'd whate'er your own you call , 
And heaven itself disarm'd me ere my fall. 
Had twenty mortals, each thy match in might 9 
Oppos'd me fairly, they had sunk in fight : 
By fate and Phoebus was I first overthrown ; 
Euphorbus next ; the third mean part thy own. 
But thou, imperious! hear my latest breath; 
The gods inspire it , and it sounds thy death. 
Insulting man, thou shalt be soon as I; 
Black fate hangs o'er thee, and thy hour draws nigh; 
Ev'n now on life's last verge I see thee stand, 
I see thee fall , and by Achilles' hand. » 

He faints; the soul unwilling wings her way, 
The beauteous body left a load of clay, 
Flits to the lone , uncomfortable coast, 
A naked, wandering, melancholy ghost ! 



344 HOMER'S ILIAD. BOOK XVI. 

Then Hector, pausing, as his eyes he fed 
On the pale carcase , thus address'd the dead : 

« From whence this boding speech, the stern decree 
Of death denoune'd , or why denouiic'd to me ? 
Why not as well Achilles' fate be given 
To Hector's lancet Who knows the will of heaven^ » 

Pensive he said ; then pressing, as he lay,. 
His breathless bosom , tore the lance away, 
And upwards cast the corpse : the reeking spear 
He shakes , and charges the bold charioteer. 
But swift Automedon with loosen'd reins 
Rapt in the chariot o'er the distant plains, 
Far from his rage th' immortal coursers drove ; 
Th' immortal coursers were the gift of Jove. 



THE ARGUMENT. 

The seventh battle , for the body of Patroclus ; the 
acts of Menelaus, 

MenelatJS , upon the death of Patroclus , defends his body 
from the enemy : Euphorbus , who attempts it , is slain. 
Hector advancing, Menelaus retires, but soon returns -with 
Ajax, and drives him off. This Glaucus objects to Hector 
as a flight, who thereupon puts on the armour he had won 
from Patroclus, and renews the battle. The Greeks give 
Way, till Ajax rallies them : AEneas sustains the Trojans. 
AEneas and Hector attempt the chariot of Achilles , which 
is borne off by Automedon. The horses of Achilles deplore 
the loss of Patroclus ; Jupiter covers his body with a thick 
darkness; the noble prayer of Ajax on that occasion. Me- 
nelaus sends Antilochus to Achilles with the news of 
Patroclus' death : then returns to the fight, where, though 
attacked with the utmost fury, he and Meriones , assisted 
by the Ajaxes, bear off the body to the ship??. 

The time is the evening oi the eight and twentieth day. The 
scene lies in the fields before Troy. 



THE 

ILIAD. 

BOOK XVII. 



On the cold earth divine Patroclus spread , 
Lies pierc'd with wounds among the vulgar dead. 
Great Menelaus, touch'd with generous woe, 
Springs to the front, and guards him from the foe -: 
Thus round her new-fall'n young the heifer moves } 
Fruit of her throes, and first-horn of ber loves > 
And anxious , helpless as he lies , and hare , 
Turns , and returns her, with a mothers care. 
Oppos'd to each that near the carcase came , 
His hroad shield glimmers , and his lances flame, 

The son of Panthus , skill'd the dart to send, 
Eyes the dead hero , and insults the friend. 
« This hand , Atrides, laid Patroclus low ; 
Warrior ! desist , nor tempt an equal blow ; 
To me the spoils my prowess won , resign ; 
Depart with life , and leave the glory mine. » 

The Trojan thus : the Spartan monarch burn'd 
"With generous anguish, and in scorn return'd : 
c< Laugh'st thou not , Jove ! from thy superior throne , 
Wheu mortals boast of prowess not their own] 
Not thus the lion glories in his might, 
Nor panther braves his spotted foe in fight, 
Nor thus the boar, those terrors of the plain; 
Man only vaunts his force , and vaunts in vain. 
But far the vainest of the boastful kind 
These sons of Panthus vent their haughty mind. 
Yet 'twas but late, beneath my conquering steel 
This boaster's brother, Hyperenor , fell; 
Against our arm , which rashly he defy'd , 
Vain was his vigour, and as vain his pride. 
These eyes beheld him on the dust expire , 
No more to cheer las spouse x or glad his sire. 



348 HOMERS ILIAD. 

Presumptuous youth ! like his shall be thy doom* 
Go, wait thy brother to the Stygian gloom; 
Or, while thou inay'st, avoid the threaten'd fate \ 
Fools stay to feel it, and are wise too late, » 

Unmov'd, Euphorbus thus : « That action known, 
Come, for my brother's blood repay thy own. 
His weeping father claims thy destin'd head, 
And spouse , a widow in her bridal bed : 
On these the conquer'd spoils I shall bestow, 
To sooth a consort's and a parent's woe. 
IV o longer then defer the glorious strife, 
Let heaven decide our fortune, fame, and life. » 

Swift as the word the missile lance he flings , 
The well-aim'd weapon on the buckler rings , 
But , blunted by the brass , innoxious falls. 
On Jove the father, great A trices calls, 
3Vor flies the javelin from his arm in vain, 
It pierc'd his throat, and bent him to the plain 1 
Wide thro' the neck appears the grisly wound , 
Prone sinks the warrior, and his arms resound. 
The shining circlets of his golden hair, 
Which ev'n the Graces mi-ht be proud to wear, 
Instarr'd with gems and gold , bestrow the shore , 
W r ith dust dishonour'd , and deform'd with gore. 

As the young olive, in some sylvan scene, 
Crown'd by fresh fountains with eternal green , 
Lifts the gay head , in snowy flowerets fair, 
And plays and dances to the gentle air; 
When, lo! a whirlwind from high heaven invades 
The tender plant, and withers all its shades : 
It lies up-rooted from its genial bed , 
A lovely ruin, now defac'd and dead. 
Thus young , thus beautiful , Euphorbus lay, 
W T hile the fierce Spartan tore his arms away. 
Proud of his deed, and glorious in the prize, 
Affrighted Troy the towering victor flies : 
Hies, as before some mountain lion's ire 
The village curs and trembling swains retire, 
When o'er the slaughtered bull they hear him roar, 
And see his jaws distill with smoking gore; 
All pale with fear, at distance scatter'd round, 
They shout incessant, and the yales resound. 



BOOK XVII. 349 

Meanwhile Apollo view'd with envious eyes. 
And urg'd great Hector to dispute the prize, 
In Mentes' shape , heneath whose martial care 
The rough Ciconians learn'd the trade of war : 
« Forbear, (he cry'd ) with fruitless speed to chace 
Achilles' coursers of aetherial race ; 
They stoop not, these, to mortal man's command, 
Or stoop to none but great Achilles' hand. 
Too long amus'd with a pursuit so vain, 
Turn , and behold the brave Euphorbus slain ! 
By Sparta slain ! for ever now supprest 
The fire which burn'd in that undaunted breast t » 

Thus having spoke, Apollo wiug'd his flight, 
And mix'd with mortals in the toils of fight. 
His words infix'd unutterable care 
Deep in great Hector's soul : thro' all the war 
He darts his anxious eye; and instant, view'd 
The breathless hero in his blood imbru'd , 
Forth welting from the wound , as prone he lay, 
And in the victor's bands the shining prey. 
Sheath' d in bright arms , thro* cleaving ranks he flies, 
And sends his voice in thunder to the skies: 
Fierce as a flood of flame by Vulcan sent, 
It flew, and fir'd the nations as it went. 
Atrides from the voice the storm divin'd, 
And thus explor'd his own unconquer'd mind : 
« Then shall I quit Patroclus on the plain, 
Slain in my cause , and for my honour slain I 
Desert the arms, the relics of my friend ( 
Or, singly, Hector and his troops atteud? 
Sure where such partial favour heaven bestowM, 
To brave the hero were to brave the god : 
Forgive me, Greece, if once I quit the field : 
'Tis not to Hector, but to heaven I yield. 
Yet , nor the god , nor heaven , should give me fear, 
Did but the voice of Ajax reach my ear ; 
Still would we turn, still battle on the plains, 
And give Achilles all that yet remains 
Of his and our Patroclus >j — This no more, 
The time allow'd : Troy thickeu'd on the shore, 
A sable scene! the terrors Hector led. 
Slow he recedes, and, sighing, ^uils the dead. 



35o homer's ILIAD. 

So from the fold th' unwilling lion parts , 
Forc'd by loud clamours , and a storm of darts ; 
He flies indeed, but threatens as he flies, 
With heart indignant and retorted eyes. 
Now enter'd in the Spartan ranks , he turn'd 
His manly breast , and with new fury burn'd ; 
O'er all the black battalions sent his view, 
And thro' the cloud the godlike Ajax knew ; 
Where labouring on the left the warrior stood , 
All grim in arms, and cover'd o'er with blood ; 
There breathing courage , where the god of day 
Had sunk each heart with terror and dismay. 

To him the king : « Oh Ajax , oh my friend ! 
Haste , and Patroclus' lov'd remains defend j 
The body to Achilles to restore, 
Demands our care ; alas ! we can no more ! 
For naked now, despoil'd of arms , he lies; 
And Hector glories in the dazzling prize. » 
He said , and touch'd his heart. The raging pair 
Pierce the thick battle, and provoke the war. 
Already had stern Hector seiz'd his head, 
And doom'd to Trojan dogs th' unhappy dead; 
But soon, as Ajax rear'd his tower-like shield, 
Sprung to his car, and measur'd back the field. 
His train to Troy the radiant armour bear , 
To stand a trophy of his fame in war. 

Meanwhile great Ajax , his broad shield display'd , 
Guards the dead hero with the dreadful shade : 
And now before , and now behind , he stood : 
Thus , in the centre of some gloomy wood, 
With many a step the lioness surrounds 
Her tawny young , beset by men and hounds \ 
Elate her heart , and rouzing all her powers, 
Dark o'er the fiery balls each hanging eye-brow lowers. 
Fast by his side , the generous Spartan glows 
With great revenge , and feeds his inward woes. 

But Glaucus , leader of the Lyciau aids , 
On Hector frowning , thus his flight upbraids : 
« Where now in Hector shall we Hector find \ 
A manly form , without a manly mind ! 
Is this , O chief! a hero's boasted fame 2 . 
How vain j without the merit , is the Maine I 



BOOK XVII. 
Since battle is renounc'd , thy thoughts employ 
What other methods may preserve thy Troy : 
'Tis time to try if Ilion's state can stand 
By thee alone , nor ask a foreign,hand: 
Mean , empty boast ! but shall the Lycians stake 
Their lives for you ? those Lycians you forsake? 
What from thy thankless arms can we expect \ 
Thy friend Sarpedon proves thy base neglect : 
Say, shall our slaughter'd bodies guard your walls , 
While unreveng'd the great Sarpedon falls \ 
Ev'n where he dy'd for Troy , you left him there , 
A feast for dogs, and all the fowls of air. 
On my command if any Lycian wait , 
Hence let him march, and give up Troy to fate. 
Did such a spirit as the gods impart 
Impel one Trojan hand, or Trojan heart; 
Such as should burn in e\ery soul that draws 
The sword for glory and his country's cause ; 
Ev'n yet our mutual arms we might employ , 
And drag yon carcase to the walls of Troy. 
Oh ! were Patroclus ours , we might obtain 
Sarpedon's arms and honour'd corpse again ! 
Greece with Achilles' friend should be repaid , 
And thus due honours purchas'd to his shade. 
But words are vain — Let Ajax once appear , 
And Hector trembles and recedes with fear ; 
Thou dar'st not meet the terrors of his eye ; 
And , lo ! already thou prepar'st to fly. » 

The Trojan chief with fix'd resentment ey'd 
The Lycian leader, and sedate reply'd : 
« Say , is it just, my friend , that Hector's ear , 
From such a warrior , such a speech should hear I 
I deem'd thee once the wisest of thy kind , 
But ill this insult suits a prudeiit mind. 
I shun great Ajax ! I desert my train ! 
'Tis mine to prove the rash assertion vain 5 
I joy to mingle where the battle bleeds, 
And hear the thunder of the sounding steeds. 
But Jove's high will is ever uiicontroul'd , 
The strong he withers, and confounds the bold ; 
Now crowns with fame the mighty man , and now 
Strikes the fresh garland from the victor's brow : 



35a homer's iliad. 

Come, thro 7 yon squadrons let us hew the way , 
And thou be witness , if I fear to-day; 
If yet a Greek the sight of Hector dread , 
Or yet their hero dare defend the dead. » 

Then, turning to the martial host, he cries : 
« Ye Trojans , Dardans , Lycians , and allies ! 
Be men , my friends , in action as in name , 
And yet be mindful of your ancient fame. 
Hector in proud Achilles' arms shall shine , 
Torn from his friend , by right of conquest mine. u 

He strode along the Held , as thus he said ; 
Thcsabie plumage nodded o'er his htad ; 
Swift thro' the spacious plain he seat a look, 
One instant saw , one instant overtook 
The distant band , that on the sandy shore 
The radiant spoils to sacred I lion bore. 
There his own mail, unbrac'd, the field bestrow'd : 
His train to Troy convey'd the massy load. 
Njw blazing in th' immortal arms he stands , 
The work and present of celestial hands *, 
By aged Peleus to Achilles given , 
As first to Peleus by the court of heaven : 
His father's arms not long Achilles wears, 
Forbid by fate to reach his father's years. 

Him, proud in triumph, glittering from afar. 
The god , whose thunder rends the troubled air , 
Beheld w th pity, as apart he sat, 
And, conscious, lock'd thro' all the scene of fate. 
He shook the sacred honours of his head ; 
Olympus trembled , and the godhead said : 

« Ah, wretched man 1 unmindful of thy end I 
A moment's glory, and what fates attend ! 
In heavenly panoply divinely bright 
Thou stand'st , and armies tremble at thy sight 
As at Achilles' self ! Beneath thy dart 
Lies slain the great Achilles' dearer part : 
Thou from the mighJy dead those arms hast torn. 
Which once the greatest of mankind had worn. 
Yet live ! I give thee one illustrious day, 
A blaze of giory , ere thou fad'st away. 
For , ah ! no more Andromache shall come , 
With joyful tears , to welcome Hector home •, 



book xvii. 353 

No more, officious, with endearing charms , 
From thy tir'd limhs imhrace Pelides' arms ! >> 

Then with his sable brow he gave the nod 
That seals his word ; the sanction of the god. 
The stubborn arms , by Jove's command dispos'd , 
Conform'd spontaneous , and around him clos'd ; 
FilPd with the god , enlarged his members grew , 
Thro 7 all his veins a sudden vigour flew ; 
The blood in brisker tides began to roll , 
And Mars himself came rushing on his soul. 
Exhorting loud , thro' all the Beld he strode , 
And look'd , and mov'd, Achilles, or a god. 
Now Mesthles, Glaucus , Medon he inspires. 
Now Phorcys , Chromius, and Hippothous fires; 
The great Thersilochus like fury found , 
Asteropaeus kindled at the sound , 
And Ennomus , in augury renownM. 
« Hear , all ye hosts , and hear, unnumber'd bands 
Of neighbouring nations , or of distant lands ! 
'Twas not for state we suramon'd you so far , 
To boast our numbers , and the pomp of war ; 
Ye came to fight ; a valiant foe to chase , 
To save our present and our future race. 
For this , our wealth, our products you enjoy , 
And glean the relics of exhausted Troy. 
Now then to conquer or to die prepare , 
To die or conquer are the terms of war. 
Whatever hand shall win Patroclus slain , 
Whoe'er shall drag him to the Trojan train , 
With Hector's self shall equal honours claim ; 
With Hector part the spoil , and share the Fame. » 

Fir'd by his words , the troops dismiss their fears, 
TUey join , they thicken , they protend their spears ; 
Full on the Greeks they drive in firm array, 
And each from Ajax hopes the glorious prey : 
Vain hope ! what numbers shall the field o'erspread ! 
What victims perish round the mighty dead ! 

Great Ajax mark'd the growing storm from far , 
And thus bespoke bis brother of the war : 
« Our fatal day, alas ! is come, my frieud, 
And all our wars and glories at au end ! 



354 HOMERS ILIAD. 

'Tis not this corpse alone we guard in vain , 

Condemn'd to vultures on the Trojan plain ; 

We too must yield ; the same sad fate must fall 

On thee , on me ; perhaps , my friend , on all. 

See what a tempest direful Hector spreads 1 , 

And lo ! it bursts , it thunders on our heads ! 

Call on our Greeks , if any hear the call , 

The bravest Greeks; this hour demands them all. » 

The warrior rais'd his voice , and wide around 
The field re-echo'd the distressful sound : 
« Oh chiefs ! oh princes ! to whose hand is given 
The rule of men ; whose glory is from heaven I 
Whom with due honours both Atrides grace : 
Ye guides and guardians of our Argive race ! 
Ail whom this well-known voice shall reach from far. 
All whom I see not thro' this cloud of war, 
Come all ! let generous rage your arms employ , 
And save Patrocius from the dogs of Troy. » 

Oilean Ajax first the voice obey'd , 
Swift was his pace , and ready was his aid ; 
Next him Idomeneus, more slow with age , 
And Merion , burning with a hero's rage. 
The long succeeding numbers who can name ? 
But all were Greeks , and eager all for fame. 
Fierce to the charge great Hector led the throng ; 
Whole Troy , embodied , rush'd with shouts along. 
Thus , when a mountain-billow foams and raves , 
Where some swoln river disembogues his waves , 
Full in the mouth is stopp'd the rushing tide , 
The boiling ocean works from side to side, 
The river trembles to its utmost shore , 
And distant rocks rebeliow to the roar. 

Nor less resolv'd , the firm Achaian band 
With brazen shields in horrid circle stand : 
Jove, pouring darkness o'er the mingled fight, 
Conceals the warriors' shining helms in night ; 
To him , the chief for whom the hosts contend , 
Had liv'd not hateful , for he hVd a friend ; 
Dead , he protects him with superior care, 
Nor dooms his carcase to the birds of air. 

The first attack the Grecians scarce sustain ; 
Repuls'd ? they yield j the Trojans seize the slain ; 



book xvii. 355 

Then fierce they rally, to revenge led on 

By the swift rage of Ajax Telamou : 

Ajax , to Peleus' son the second name , 

In graceful stature next , and next in fame. 

With headlong force the foremost ranks he tore : 

So thro' the thicket hursts the mountain-hoar , 

And rudely scatters , far to distance round , 

The frighted hunter and the haying hound. 

The son of Lethus , brave Pelasgus' heir, 

Hippothous , dragg'd the carcase thro' the war ; 

The sinewy ancles hor'd , the feet he bound 

With thongs , inserted thro' the double wound : 

Inevitable fate o'ertakes the deed , 

Doom'd by great Ajax' vengeful lance to bleed: 

It cleft the helmet's brazen cheeks in twain ; 

The shatter'd crest, and horse-hair, strow the plain *, 

With nerves relax'd he tumbles to the ground ; 

The brain comes gushing thro' the ghastly wound : 

He drops Patroclus' foot , and o'er him spread 

Now lies , a sad companion of the dead : 

Far from Larissa lies, his native air, 

And ill requites his parent's tender care. 

Lamented youth ! in life's first bloom he fell , 

Sent by great Ajax to the shades of hell. 

Once more at Ajax Hector's javelin flies *, 
The Grecian , marking as it cut the skies , 
Shunn'd the descending death ; which hissing on , 
Stretch'd in the dust the great Iphytus' son , 
Schedius the brave , of all the Pbocian kind 
The boldest warrior , and the noblest mind: 
In little Panope , for strength renown'd , 
He held his seat, and ml'd the realms around. 
Plung'd in his throat , the weapon drank his blood , 
And deep transpiercing , thro' the shoulder stood ; 
In clanging arms the hero fell, and all 
The fields resounded with his weighty fall. 

Phorcys , as slain Hippothous he defends , 
The Telamonian lance his belly rends ; 
The hollow armour burst before the stroke , 
And thro' the wound the rushing entrails broke : 
In strong convulsions panting on the sands 
lie lies ? and grasps the dust with dying hands. 



356 

Struck at the sight, recede the Trojan train ; 
The shouting Argives strip the heroes slain. 
And now had Troy, hy Greece compell'd to yield ? 
Fled to her ramparts , aud resign'd the field ; 
Greece , in her native fortitude elate , 
With Jove averse , had turn'd the scale of fate ; 
But Phcehus urg'd iEneas to the fight ; 
He seem'd like aged Periphas to sight : 
A herald in Anchises 5 love grown old , 
Rever'd for prudence , and with prudence hold. 

Thus he : a What methods yet, oh chief ! remain 
To save your Troy , tho' heaven its fall ordain l . 
There have heen heroes , who , by virtuous care , 
By valour, numbers , and by arts of war , 
Have forc'd the powers to spare a sinking state , 
And gain'd at length the glorious odds of fate. 
But you, when fortune smiles , when Jove declares 
His partial favour, and assists your w T ars , 
Your shameful efforts 'gainst yourselves employ , 
And force th' unwilling god to ruin Troy. » 

iEneas , thro' the form assum'd , descries 
The power conceai'd , and thus to Hector cries : 
« Oh lasting shame ! to our own fears a prey , 
We seek our ramparts , and desert the day ! 
A god , nor is he less, my bosom warms, 
And tells me , Jove asserts the Trojan arms. » 

He spoke , and foremost to the combat flew \ 
The bold example all his hosts pursue. 
Then first, Leoc-ritus beneath h;rn bled, 
In vain belov'd by valiant Lyccmede ; 
Who viewVl his fall , and , grieving at the chance , 
Swift to revenge it, seiii bis angry lance; 
The whirling lance, with yigorous force addrest. 
Descends, and pants in Apiiaon's reast : 
From rich Paeonia's vales the warrior came, 
Next thee , Asteropeiis! in place and fame. 
Asteropeus with grief beheld the slain, 
And rush'd to com? at, -but he rush'd in vain : 
Indissoluble firm , around the dead, 
Rank wit-hill rank, on buckler buckler spread, 
And hemm'd with bristled spears , the Grecian* stood 
A brazen bulwark, and an iron wood. 



BOOK XVII. 35y 

Great Ajax eyes them with incessant care, 
And in an orb contracts the crowded war , 
Close in their ranks commands to fight or fall , 
And stands the centre and the soul of all: 
Fixt on the spot they war, and , wounded , wound ; 
A sanguine torrent steeps the reeking ground ; 
On heaps the Greeks . on heaps the Trojans bled , 
And , thickening round them, rise the hills of dead. 

Greece in close order, and collected might , 
Yet suffers least , and sways the wavering fight : 
Fierce as conflicting fires the combat burns , 
And now it rises, now it sinks, by turns. 
In one thick darkness all the fight was lost ; 
The sun , the moon , and all th' sethereal host , 
Seem'd as extinct; day ravish'd from their eyes, 
And all heaven's splendours blotted from the skies. 
Such o'er Patroclus' body hung the night , 
The rest in sunshine fought , and open light ; 
Unclouded there , th' aerial azure spread , 
No vapour rested on the mountain's head ; 
The golden sun pour'd forth a stronger ray, 
And all the broad expansion flam'd with day. 
Dispers'd around the plain , by fits they fight, 
And here , and there , their scatter'd arrows light : 
But death and darkness o'er the carcase spread , 
There burn'd the war, and there the mighty bled. 

Meanwhile the sons of Nestor, in the rear, 
Their fellows routed , toss the distant spear , 
And skirmish wide : so Nestor gave command, 
When from the ships he sent the Pylian band. 
The youthful brothers thus for fame contend , 
Nor knew the fortune of Achilles' friend ; 
In thought they view'd him still, with martial joy, 
Glorious in arms , and dealing deaths to Troy. 

But round the corpse the heroes pant for breath , 
And thick and heavy grows the work of death ; 
O'erlabour'd now, with dust, and sweat , and gore , 
Their knees , their legs, their feet are cover'd o'er •, 
Drops follow drops, the clouds on clouds arise , 
And carnage clogs their hands, and darkness fills their eyes. 
As when a slaughtered bull's yet reeking hide , 
Strain' d with full force , and tugg'd from side to side , 



358 HOMER*S ILIAD.' 

The brawny curriers stretch ; and labour o'er 

Th' extended surface , druuk with fat and gore : 

So tugging round the corpse both armies stood *, 

The mangled body bath'd in sweat and blood : 

While Greeks and Ilions equal strength employ , 

Now to the ships to force it , now to Troy. 

Not Pallas' self, her breast when fury warms, 

Nor he , whose anger sets the world in arms , 

Could blame this scene : such rage , such horror reign'd ; 

Such , Jove to honour the great dead ordain'd. 

Achilles in his ships at distance lay , 
Nor knew the fatal fortune of the day ; 
He , yet unconscious of Patroclus' fall , 
In dust extended under Ilion's wall , 
Expects him glorious from the conquer' d plain , 
And for his wish'd return prepares in vain ; 
Tho' well he knew, to make proud Ilion bend , 
Was more than heaven had destin'd to his friend , 
Perhaps to him : this Thetis had reveal'd ; 
The rest, in pity to her son , conceal'd. 

Still rag'd the conflict round the hero dead , 
And heaps on heaps by mutual wounds they bled: 
« Curs'd be the man (ev'n private Greeks would say) 
Who dares desert this well-disputed day ! 
First may the cleaving earth before our eyes 
Gape wide , and drink our blood for sacrifice ! 
First perish all , ere haughty Troy shall boast 
We lost Patroclus , and oar glory lost ! » 

Thus they. While with one voice the Trojans said ; 
« Grant this day , Jove ! or heap us on the dead ! » 

Then clash their sounding arms ; the clangours rise , 
And shake the brazen concave of the skies. 

Meantime , at distance from the scene of blood, 
The pensive steeds of great Achilles stood : 
Their godlike master slain before their eyes , 
They wept , and shar'd in human miseries. 
In vain Automedon now shakes the rein , 
Now plies the lash , and soothes and threats in vain ; 
Nor to the tight , nor Hellespont they go , 
Restive they stood , and obstinate in woe : 
Still as a tomb-stone , never to be mov'd , 
On some good man or woman unrepfoyM 



■fl 



BOOK XVII. 35^ 

Lays its eternal weight ; or fix'd as stands 
A marble courser, by the sculptor's hands 
Plae'd on the hero's grave. Along their face 
The big round drops cours'd down with silent pace, 
Conglobing on the dust. Their manes , that late 
Circled iheir arched necks , and wav'd in state, 
Trail'd on the dust , beneath the yoke were spread , 
And prone to earth was hung their languid head ; 
Nor Jove disdain'd to cast a pitying look , 
While thus relenting to the steeds he spoke : 

« Unhappy coursers of immortal strain ! 
Exempt from age , and deathless now in vain ; 
Did we your race on mortal man bestow, 
Only, alas ! to share in mortal woe ? 
For ah ! what is there , of inferior birth , 
That breathes or creeps upon the dust of earth ; 
What wretched creature , of what wretched kind , 
Than man more weak , calamitous , and blind ? 
A miserable race ! Bat cease to mourn ; 
For not by you shall Priam's son be borne 
High on the splendid car: one glorious prize 
He rashly boasts ; the rest our will denies. 
Ourself will swiftness to your nerves impart , 
Ourself with rising spirits swell your heart. 
Automedon your rapid flight shall bear 
Safe to the navy thro' the storm of war. 
For yet 'tis giv'n to Troy to ravage o'er 
The field , and spread her slaughters to the shore j 
The sun shall see her conquer, till his fall 
With sacred darkness shades the face of all. » 

He said ; and breathing in th' immortal horse 
Excessive spirit , urg'd them to the course ; 
From their high manes they shake the dust, and bear 
The kindling chariot thro' the parted war. 
So flies a vulture thro' the clamorous train 
Of geese, that scream , and scatter round the plain. 
From danger now with swiftest speed they flew, 
And now to conquest with like speed pursue; 
Sole in the seat the charioteer remains , 
Tsow plies the javelin, now directs the reins : 
Him brave Alcimedon beheld distrest , 
Approach'd the chariot , and the chief addrest : 



36o homer's ILIAD. 

« What god provokes thee , rashly thus to dare , 
Alone , unaided , in the thickest war ? 
Alas ! thy friend is slain , and Hector wields 
Achilles' arms triumphant in the fields. » 

« In happy time ( the charioteer replies) 
The bold Alcimedon now greets my eyes ; 
Pio Greek like him the heavenly steeds restrains , 
Or holds their fury in suspended reins ; 
Patroclus , while he liv'd , their rage could tame , 
But now Patroclus is an empty name ! 
To thee I yield the seat , to thee resign 
The ruling charge : the task of fight he mine. » 

He said. Alcimedon , with active heat , 
Snatches the reins , and vaults into the seat. 
His friend descends. The chief of Troy descry 'd , 
And call'd iEneas fighting near his side. 
« Lo , to my sight beyond our hope restored , 
Achilles' car , deserted of its lord ! 
The glorious steeds our ready arms invite, 
Scarce their weak drivers guide them thro' the fight : 
Can such opponents stand , when we assail ? 
Unite thy force, my friend , and we prevail. » 

The son of Venus to the counsel yields ; 
Then o'er their backs they spread their solid shields : 
With brass refulgent the broad surface shin'd , 
And thick bull-hides the spacious concave lin'd. 
Then Chromius follows , Aretus succeeds ; 
Each hopes the conquest of the lofty steeds ; 
In vain , brave youths , with glorious hopes ye burn , 
In vain advance , not fated to return. 

Unmov'd , Automedon attends the fight , 
Implores th' eternal , and collects his might. 
Then turning to his friend , with dauntless mind : 
« Oh keep the foaming coursers close hehind ! 
Full on nry shoulders let their nostrils blow, 
For hard the fight , determin'd is the foe ; 
'Tis Hector comes ; and when he seeks the prize , 
War knows no mean : he wins it , or he dies. » 

Then thro' the field he sends his voice aloud , 
And calls th' Ajaces from the warring crowd , 
W T ith great Atrides. « Hither turn , ( he said ) 
Turn > where distress demands immediate aid ; 



BOOK XVII. 36l 

The dead , encircled by his friends , forego , 
And save the living from a fiercer foe. 
Unhelp'd we stand , unequal to engage 
The force of Hector, and iEneas' rage : 
Yet, mighty as they are , my force to prove 
Is only mine ; th' event belongs to Jove. » 

He spoke , and high the sounding javelin flung, 
Which pass'd the shield of Aretus the young : 
It pierc'd his belt, emboss'd with curious art, 
Then in the lower belly stuck the dart. 
As when the ponderous axe , descending full , 
Cleaves the broad forehead of some brawny bull ; 
Stuck 'twixt the horns , he springs with many a bound , 
Then tumbling rolls enormous on the ground : 
Thus fell the youth ; the air his soul receiv'd, 
And the spear trembled as his entrails heav'd. 

Now at Autoinedon the Trojan foe 
Discharg'd his lance ; the meditated blow, 
Stooping , he shunn'd ; the javelin idly fled , 
And hiss'd. innoxious o'er the hero's head ; 
Deep rooted in the ground, the forceful spear 
In long vibrations spent its fury there. 
With clashing faulchions now the chiefs had clos'd ? 
But each brave Ajax heard , and interpos'd •, 
Nor longer Hector with his Trojan's stood , 
But left their slain companion in his blood : 
His arms Automedon divests , and cries ; 
« Accept , Patroclus , this mean sacrifice ! 
Thus have I sooth'd my griefs , and thus have paid ? 
Poor as it is , some offering to thy shade ! » 

So looks the lion o'er a mangled boar, 
All grim with rage , and horrible wih gore ; 
High on the chariot at one bound he sprung , 
And o'er his seat the bloody trophies hung. 

And now Minerva , from the realms of air 
Descends impetuous , and renews the war ; 
For, pleas'd at length the Grecian arms to aid , 
The lord of thunders sent the blue-ey'd maid. 
As when high Jove , denouncing future woe , 
O'er the dark clouds extends his purple bow , 
In sign of tempests from the troubled air, 
Or from the rage of man , destructive war , 

16 



362 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

The drooping cattle dread tli' impending skies, 
And from his half till'd field the labourer flies. 
In such a form the goddess round her drew 
A livid cloud, and to the battle flew. 
Assuming Phoenix' shape , on earth she fails , 
And in his well-known voice to Sparta calls : 
« And lies Achilles' friend , belov'd by all , 
A prey to dogs beneath the Trojan wall? 
What shame to Greece for future times to tell , 
To thee the greastest, in whose cause he fell ! » 

a Oh chief! oh father! ( Atreus' son replies ) 
Oh full of days ! by long experience wise ! 
What more desires my soul , than here , unmov'd f 
To guard the body of the man I lov'd ! 
Ah would Minerva send me strength to rear 
This weary 'd arm , and ward the storm of war ! 
But Hector , like the rage of fire , we dread , 
And Jove's own glories blaze around his head. » 

Pleas'd to be first of all the powers addrest , 
She breathes new vigour in her hero's breast , 
And fills with keen revenge , with fell despight , 
Desire of blood , and rage, and lust of fight. 
So burns the vengeful hornet , soul all o'er , 
Repuls'd in vain , and thirsty still of gore ; 
Bold son of Air and Heat , on angry wings , 
Untam'd , untir'd , he turns , attacks , and stings. 
Fir'd with like ardour fierce Atrid.es flew , 
And sent his soul with every lance he threw. 

There stood a Trojan , not unknown to fame , 
Eetion's son , and Podes was his name ; 
With riches honour'd , and with courage blest , 
By Hector lovM , his comrade , and his guest ; 
Thro' his broad belt the spear a passage found , 
And , ponderous as he falls , his arms resound. 
Sudden at Hector's side Apollo stood ; 
Like Phaenops , Asius' son , appear'd the god j 
Asius the great , who held his wealthy reign 
In fair Abydos , by the rolling main. 
« Oh prince ! ( he cry'd) oh foremost once in fame I 
What Grecian now shall tremble at thy name ? 
Dost thon , at length , to Menelaus yield , 
A chief once thought no terror of the field; 



book xvir. 363 

Yet singly , now , the long disputed prize 
He bears victorious , while our army flies. 
By the same arm illustrious Podes bled ; 
The friend of Hector , unreveng'd , is dead ! » 
This heard , o'er Hector spreads a cloud of woe, 
Rage lifts his lance , and drives him on the foe. 

But now th' Eternal shook hi* sable shield , 
That shaded Ide and all the subject field 
Beneatbrits ample verge. A rolling cloud 
Involv'd the mount ; the thunder roar'd aloud ; 
Th' affrighted hills from their foundations nod , 
And blaze beneath the lightnings of the god : 
At one regard of his all-seeing eye , 
The vanquish'd triumph , and the victors fly. 

Then trembled Greece : the flight Peneleus led : 
For as the brave Boeotian tum'd his head 
To face the foe , Polydamas drew near , 
And raz'd his shoulder with a shortened spear ; 
By Hector wounded , Leitus quits the plain ^ 

Pierc'd thro' the wrist : and , raging with the pain , ' 

Grasps his once formidable lance in vain. i 

As Hector follow'd , Idomen addrest 
The flaming javelin to his manly breast ; 
The brittle point before his corslet fields ; 
Exulting Troy with clamour fills the fields : 
High on his chariot as the Cretan stood , 
The son of Priam whirl'd the missive w r ood ; 
But , erring from its aim , th' impetuous spear 
Struck to the dust the 'squire and charioteer 
Of martial Merion : Cceranus his name , 
Who left fair Lyctus for the fields of fame. 
On foot , bold Merion fought : and now, laid low , 
Had grae'd the triumphs of his Trojan foe ; 
But the brave 'squire the ready coursers brought , 
And with his life his master's safety bought. 
Between his cheek and ear the weapon went , 
The teeth it shatter'd , and the tongue it rent. 
Prone from the seat he tumbles to the plain i 
His dj r ing hand forgets the falling reiu : 
This Merion reaches , bending from the car, 
And urges to desert the hopeless war; 



364 H01VtER 7 S ILIAD, 

Idoraeneus consents ; the Jash applies ; 
And the swift chariot to the navy flies. 

Nor Ajax less the will of heaven descry'd, 
And conquest shifting to the Trojan side , 
Turn'd by the hand of Jove. Then thus begun , 
To Atreus' seed, the godlike Telamon : 

« Alas ! who sees not Jove's almighty hand 
Transfers the glory to the Trojan band 2 . 
"Whether the weak or strong discharge the dart, 
He guides each arrow to a Grecian heart : 
Not so our spears : incessant tho' they rain , 
He suffers every lance to fall in vain. 
Deserted of the god , yet let us try 
What human strength and prudence can supply j 
If yet this honour'd corpse, in triumph borne , 
May glad the fleets that hope not our return , 
Who trembled yet, scarce rescu'd from their fates , 
And still hear Hector thundering at their gates. 
Some hero too must be dispatch'd to bear 
The mournful message to Pelides' ear , 
For sure he knows not, distant on the shore, 
His friend , his lov'd Patroclus , is no more. 
But such a chief I spy not thro' the host : 
The men , the steeds , the armies , all are lost 
In general darkness — Lord of earth and air ! 
Oh king ! oh father ! hear my humble prayer ? 
Dispel this cloud , the light of heaven restore j 
Give me to see, and Ajax asks no more : 
If Greece must perish , we thy will obey ; 
But let us perish in the face of day ! » 

With tears the hero spoke , and at his prayer 
The god relenting , clear'd the clouded air ; 
Forth burst the sun with all-enlightening ray ; 
The blaze of armour flashed against the day. 
Kow, now, Atrides ! cast around thy sight ; 
If yet Antilochus survives the fight , 
Let him to great Achilles' ear convey 
The fatal news — Atrides hastes away. 

So turns the lion from the nightly fold , 
Tho' high in courage , and with hunger bold , 
Long gall'd by herdsmen , and long vex'd by hounds, 
Stiff with fatigue , and fretted sore with wounds *, 



book xvir. 365 

Hie darts fly round him from a hundred hands , 
And the red terrors of the blazing brands : 
*Tili late , reluctant, at the dawn of day 
Sour he departs , and quits th' untasted prey. 
So mov'd Atrides from his dangerous place , 
With weary limbs , but with unwilling pace *, 
The foe , he fear'd , might yet Patroclus gain , 
And muck admonish'd , much adjur'd his train. 

« Oh guard these relics , to your charge consigned $ 
And bear the merits of the dead in mind ; 
How skill'd he was in each obliging art ; 
The mildest manners , and the gentlest heart : 
He was , alas ! but fate decreed his end •, 
In death a hero , as in life a friend ! » 

So parts the chief ; from rank to rank he flew > 
And round on all sides sent his piercing view. 
As the bold bird , endu'd with sharpest eye 
Of all that wings the mid aerial sky , 
The sacred eagle , from his walks above 
Looks down , and sees the distant thicket move ; 
Then stoops, and'sousing on the quivering hare $ 
Snatches his life amid the clouds of air. 
Not with less quickness > his exerted sight 
Pass'd this , and that way , through the ranks of fight ; 
Till on the left the chief he sought he found , 
Cheering his men , and spreading deaths around. 

To him the king : a Belov'd of Jove ! draw near $ 
For sadder tidings never touch'd thy ear; 
Thy eyes have witness'd what a fatal turn ! 
How Ilion triumphs, and th' Aehaians mourn. 
This is not all : Patroclus , on the shore 
Now pale and dead , shall succour Greece no more* 
Ply to the fleet , this instant fly , and tell 
The sad Achilles how his lov'd one fell : 
He too may haste the naked corpse to gain ; 
The arms are Hector's , who despoii'd the slain. » 

The youthful warrior heard with silent woe , 
From his fair eyes the tears began to flow ; 
Big with the mighty grief, be strove to say 
What sorrow dictates , hot no word found way. 
To brave Laodocus his arms he flung , 
Who near him wheeling , drove his steeds along ; 



366 homer's ILIAD. 

Then ran , the mournful message to impart r 
With tearful eyes, and with dejected heart. 

Swift fled the youth : nor Menelaus stands , 
Though sore distrest , to aid the PyJian hands; 
But Lids hold Thrasymede those troops sustain ; 
Himself returns to his Patroclus elain. 
« Gone is AntiJoehus , the hero said , 
But hope not, warriors, for Achdies' aid: 
Though fierce his rage , unbounded be his woe , 
Unarm'd he fights not wdh the Trojan foe. 
'Tis in our hands alone our hopes remain ; 
'Tis our own vigour must the dead regain , 
And save ourselves , while with impetuous hate 
Troy pours along , and this way rolls our fate. » 

« 'Tis well ( said Ajax ) *, be it then thy care , 
With Merion's aid , the weighty corpse to rear ; 
Myself and my bold brother will sustain 
The shock of Hector and his charging train : 
JNor fear we armies , fighting side by side ; 
What Troy can dare , we have already try r d, 
Have try'd it , and have stood. » The hero said. 
High from the ground the warriors heave the dead* 
A general clamour rises at the sight ; 
Loud shout the Trojans , and renew the light. 
3Vot fiercer rush along the gloomy wood , 
With rage insatiate, and with thirst of blood, 
Voracious hounds , that many a length before 
Their furious hunters , drive the wounded boar ; 
But if the savage turns his glaring eye, 
They howl aloof, and round the forest fly. 
Thus on retreating Greece the Trojans pour, 
Wave their thick faulchions , and their javelins shower ', 
But Ajax turning , to their fears they yield , 
All pale they tremble , and forsake the field. 

While thus aloft the hero's corpse they bear 7 
Behind them rages all the storm of war ; 
Confusion , tumult , horror , o'er the throng 
Of men, steeds , chariots, urg'd the rout along t 
Less fierce the winds with risiug flames conspire ? 
To whelm some city under waves of fire ; 
JSow sink in gloomy clouds the proud abodes \ 
3N[ow crack the blazing temples of the gods^ 



BCflDK XVII. 067 

The rumbling torrent thro' the ruin rolls , 
And sheets of smoke mount heavy to the roles* 
The heroes sweat beneath their honour'd load : 
As when two mules , along the rugged road , 
From the steep mountain , with exerted strength , 
Drag some vast beam , or mast's unwieldy length *, 
Inly they groan , big drops of sweat distil , 
Th' enormous timber lumbering down the hill : 
So these. — Behind, the bulk of Ajax stands, 
And breaks the torrent of the rushing bands. 
Thus when a river , swell'd with sudden rains , 
Spreads his broad waters o'er the level plains , 
Some interposing hill the stream divides , 
And breaks its force , and turns the winding tides. 
Still close they follow, close the rear engage ; 
iEneas storms } and Hector foams with rage : 
While Greece a heavy , thick retreat maintains ; 
Wedg'd in one body , like a flight of cranes , 
That shriek incessant while the falcon, hung 
High on pois'd pinions , threats their caliow young. 
So from the Trojan chiefs the Grecians fly , 
Such the wild terror, and the mingled cry : 
Within, without the trench, and all the way. 
Strow'd in bright heaps , their arms and armour la\ 1 
Such horror Jove imprest ! yet still proceeds 
The work of death, and siiil the battle bleeds 



THE ARGUMENT. 

The gnef of Achilles > and new armour made him 
by Vulcan. 

The news of the death of Patroclus is brought to Achilles 
by Antilochus. Thetis , hearing his lamentations , comes 
with all her sea-nymphs to comfort him. The speeches of 
the mother and son on this occasion. Iris appears to Achilles 
by the command of Juno, and orders him to shew himself 
at the head of the "entrenchments. The sight of him turns 
the fortune of the day, and the body of Patroc'us is car- 
ried off by the Greeks. The Trojans call a counci' , where 
Hector aud Polydamas disagree in their opinions *, but the 
advice of the former prevails, to remain encamped in the 
held. The grief of Achilles over the body of Patroclus. 

Thetis goes to the palace of Vulcan to obtain new arms for 
her son. The description of the wonderful works of Vulcan; 
and, lastly, that noble one of the shield of Achilles. 

The latter part of the nine and twentieth day, and the night 
ensuing , take up this book. The scene is at Achilles's tent 
on the sea-shore , from whence it changes to the palace of 
Vukan. 



THE 

ILIAD. 

BOOK XVIII. 



-I hits , like the rage of fire, the comh.it hums, 

And now it rises, now it sinks hy turns. 

Meanwhile , where Hellespont's hroad waters floWj 

Stood Nestor's son, the messenger of woe : 

There sat Achilles , shaded by his sails , 

On hoisted yards extended to the gales : 

Pensive he sat ; for all that fate design'd 

Rose in sad prospect to hisTjoding inind; 

Thus to his soul he said : « Ah ! what constrains 

The Greeks , late victors, now to quit the plains? 

Is this the day, which heaven so long ago 

Ordain'd to sink me with the weight of woe ! 

So Thetis warn'd , when hy a Trojan hand 

The bravest of the Myrmidonian band 

Should lose the light ! Fulfill'd is that decree ; 

Fall'n is the warrior, and Patroclus he ! 

In vain I charg'd him soon to quit the plain , 

And warn'd to shun Hectorean force in vain ! » 

Thus while he thinks, Antilochus appears, 
And tells the melancholy tale with tears* 
« Sad tidings, son of Peleus ! thou must hear j- 
And wretched I, th' unwilling messenger 1 
Dead is Patroclus! for his corpse they fight, 
His naked corpse ; his arms are Hector's right. » 

A sudden horror shot thro' all the chief, 
And wrapt his senses in the cloud of grief ; 
Cast on the ground , with furious hands he spread 
The scorching ashes o'er his graceful head ; 
His purple garments , and his golden hairs , 
Those he deforms with dust , and these he tears : 
On the hard soil his groaning breast he threw, 
And roll'd and groyeU'd, as to earth he grew. 



3yo homer's ILIAD. 

The virgin captives , with disorder'^ charms , 

Won by his own , or by Patroclus' arms , 

Riush'd from the tents wilh cries; and gathering round, 

Beat their white breasts , and fainted on the ground i 

While Nestor's son sustains a manlier part, 

And mourns the warrior with a warrior's heart ; 

Hangs on his arms, amidst his frantic woe, 

And oft prevents the meditated blow. 

Far in the deep abysses of the main , 
With hoary Nereus, and the watery train , 
The mother goddess , from her crystal throne , 
Heard his loud cries, and answer'd groan for groan* 
The circling Nereids with their mistress weep, 
And all the sea-green sisters of the deep, 
Thalia , Glauce , every watery name , 
Nesaea mild , and silver Spio came ; 
Cymothce and Cymodoce were nigh , 
And the blue languish of soft Alia's eye. 
Their locks Aetata and Limnoria rear, 
Then Proto , Doris , Panope , appear, 
Thoa, Pherusa , Doto, Melita , 
Agave gentle, and Amphiioe gay ; 
Next Callianira , Callianassa , show 
Their sister looks ; Dexamene the slow y 
And swift Dynamene, now cut the tides: 
Ja?ra now the verdant wave divides : 
Nemertes with Apseudes lifts the head T 
Bright Galatea quits her pearly bed : 
These Orythia , Clymene , attend , 
Mrera, Amphinome , the train extend, 
And black Jauira , and Janassa fair, 
And Amatheia with her amber hair ; 
All these, and all that deep in ocean held 
Their sacred seats , the glimmering grotto filPd; 
Each beat her ivory breast with silent woe, 
Till Thetis' sorrows thus began to flow : 

« Hear me , and judge , ye sisters of the main! 
How just a cause has Thetis to complain? 
How wretched , were. I mortal , were my fate! 
How more than wretched in th' immortal state ! 
Sprung from my bed a godlike hero came , 
The bravest far that ever bore the name ; 



BOOK XVIII. OJ1 

Like some fair oiive , by my careful hand 

He grew, he fiourish'd, and adorn'd the land; 

To Troy I sent him ; but the fates ordain 

He never, never must return again. 

So short a space the light of heaven to view , 

So short , alas ! and fill'd with anguish too. 

Hear how Iris sorrows echo thro' the shore I 

I cannot ease them , but I must deplore ; 

I go at least to bear a tender part , 

And mourn my lov'd one with a mother's heart. » 

She said, and left the caverns of the main, 
All hath'd in tears ; the melancholy train 
Attend her way. Wide-opening part the tides , 
While the long pomp the silver wave divides. 
Approaching now, they touch'd the Trojan land; 
Then , two by two , ascended up the strand. 
Th' immortal mother, standing close beside 
Hei mournful offspring , to his sighs reply'd ; 
Along the coast their mingled clamours ran ? 
And thus the silver-footed dame began : 

« Why mourns my son l thy late preferr'd request 
The god has granted , and the Greeks distrest : 
Why mourns my son' 1 , thy anguish let me share, 
Reveal the cause, and trust a parent's care. » 

He, deeply groaning — «To this cureless grief 
Not ev'n the Thunderers favour brings relief. 
Patroclus — ah ! — Say, goddess, can I boast 
A pleasure now? Revenge itself is lost : 
Patroclus, lov'd of all my martial train, 
Beyond mankind, beyond myself, is slain! 
Lost are those arms the gods themselves bestow'd 
On Peleus ; Hector bears the glorious load. 
Curs'd be that day, when all the powers above 
Thy charms submitted to a mortal love : 
Oh hadst thou still , a sister of the mail*, 
Pursu'd the pleasures of the watery reign ; 
And happier Peleus , less ambitious , led 
A mortal beauty to his equal bed ! 
Ere the sad fruit of thy unhappy womb 
Had caus'd such sorrows past, and woes to come. 
For soon , alas ! that wretched offspring slain, 
IVcvv woes, new sorrows, shall create again. 



3^2 HOMER 7 S ILIAD. 

'Tis not in fate th' alternate now to give \ 

Patroclus dead, Achilles hates to live. 

Let me revenge it on proud Hector's heart, 

Let his last spirit smoke upon my dart; 

On these conditions will I hreathe ; till then y 

I hlush to walk among the race of men. u 

A Hood of tears , at this , the goddess shed : 
« Ah then, I see thee dying, see thee dead ! 
"When Hector falls , thou dy'st. » — « Let Hector die,, 
And let me fall ! ( Achilles made reply. ) 
Far lies Patroclus fiom his native plain: 
He fell , and , falling , wish'd my aid in vain. 
Ah then , since from this miserable day 
I cast all hope of my return away *, 
Since, unreveng'd, a hundred ghosts demand 
The fate of Hector from Achilles' hand *, 
Since here, for brutal courage far renown'd, 
I live an idle burden to the ground , 
Others in council fam'd for nobler skill , 
More useful to preserve , than I to kill, 
Let me — But oh ! ye gracious powers above I 
Wrath and revenge from men and gods remove t 
Far, far too dear to every mortal breast , 
Sweet to the soul , as honey to the taste ; 
Gathering like vapours of a noxious kind 
From fiery i.iOod, and darkening all the mind. 
3\Je Agamemnon urg'd to deadly hate ; 
'Tis past — I quell it, I resign to fate. 
Yes — I will meet the murderer of my friend •, 
Or, if the gods ordain it, meet my end. 
The # s'.*oke of fate the bravest cannot shun > 
The great Alcides, Jove's unequal'd son , 
To Juno's hate at length resign'd his breath, 
And sunk the victim of all- conquering death. 
So shall Achilles fall ! stretch'd pale and dead, 
3N T o.more the Grecian hope, or Trojan dread! 
Let me , this instant, ru?h into the fields, 
And reap what glory Lie's short harvest yields. 
Shall I not force some widow dame to tear, 
"With frantic hands , her long dishevell'd hair? 
Shall T not force her breast to heave with sighs, 
And the soft tears to trickle from her eyejU 



BOOK XVIII, 3^3 

Yes, I shall give the fair those mournful charms — ■ 
In vain you hold me — Hence ! — my arms , my arms ! 
Soon shall the sanguine torrent spread so wide , 
That all shall know Achilles swells the tide. » 

— « My son , ( Coerulean Thetis made reply, 
To fate submitting with a secret sigh) 
The host to succour, and thy friends to save , 
Is worthy thee *, the duty of the brave. 
But canst thou, naked , issue to the plains \ 
Thy radiant arms the Trojan foe detains. 
Insulting Hector bears the spoils on high, 
But vainly glories , for his fate is nigh. 
Yet , yet a while , thy generous ardour stay, 
Assur'd, I meet thee at the dawn of day, 
Charg'd with refulgent arms, a glorious load , 
Vulcanianarms, the labour of a god. » 

Then turning to the daughters of the main s 
The goddess thus dismiss'd her azure train : 

« Ye sister JNereids , to your deeps descend , 
Haste , and our father's sacred seat attend *, 
I go to find the architect divine , 
Where vast Olympus' starry summits shine: 
So tell our hoary sire. » — This charge she gavei 
The sea-green sisters plunge beneath the wave: 
Thetis once more ascends the blest abodes , 
And treads the brazen threshold of the gods. 

And now the Greeks , from furious Hector's force, 
TJrg'd to broad Hellespont their headlong course : 
3Nor yet their chiefs Patroclus' body bore 
Safe thro' the tempest to the tented shore. 
The horse, the foot, with equal fury join'd , 
Pour'd on the rear, and thunder'd close behind: 
And, like a flarue thro' fields of ripen' d corn ? 
The rage of Hector o'er the ranks was borne. ' 
Thrice the slain hero by the foot he drew ; 
Thrice to the skies the Trojan clamours flew: 
As oft th' Ajaces his assault sustain; 
But check'd , he turns ; repuls'd, attacks again. 
With fiercer shouts his lingering troops he fires , 
Nor yields a step , nor from his post retires : 
So watchful shepherds strive to force , in vain 9 
The hungry lion from a carcase sl^in. 



074 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

Ev'n yet, Patroclus had he borne away, 
And all the glories of th' extended day, 
Had not high Juno , from the realms of air, 
Secret , dispatch'd her trusty messenger. 
The various goddess of the showery bow , 
Shot in a whirlwind to the shore below : 
To great Achilles at his ships she came, 
And thus began the many-colour'd dame : 

« Rise , son of Peleus ! rise , divinely brave ! 
Assist the combat , and Pairoclus save : 
For him the slaughter to the fleet they spread, 
And fall by mutual wounds around the dead. 
To drag him back to Troy the foe contends , 
Nor with his death the rage of Hector ends : 
A prey to dogs he dooms the corpse to lie, 
And maiks the place to fix his head on high. 
Rise , and prevent, if yet you think of fame , 
Thy friend's disgrace, thy own eternal shame. » 

— « Who sends thee, goddess ! from th' aetherial skies ?» 
Achilles thus. And Iris thus replies : 

« I come, Pelides! from the queen of Jove, 
Th' immortal empress of the realms above ; 
Unknown to him who sits remote on high , 
Unknown to all the synod of the sky. » 

— «Thou com'st in vain ( he cries , with fury warm'd) *, 
Arms I have none, and can I fight unarm'd l . 
Unwilling as I am , of force I stay, 

Till Thetis bringjxie , at the dawn of day, 

Vulcanian arms; what other can I wield , 

Except the mighty Telamonian shield \ 

That , in my friend's defence, has Ajax spreaj , 

"While his strong lance around him heaps the dead : 

The gallant chief defends Mencetius 1 son , 

And does what his Achilles should have done. » 

— « Thy want of arms (said Iris) well we know *, 
But tho' unarm'd , yet clad in terrors , go ! 

Let but Achilles o'er yon trench appear, 
Pro ud Troy shall tremble , and consent to fear : 
Greece from one glance of that tremendous eye , 
Shall take new courage , and disdain to fly. » 
She spoke , and past in air. The hero rose 
Her aegis Pallas o'er his shoulder throws \ 



l 



book xy mi. 3yS 

Around his brows a golden cloud she spread; 

A stream of glory flam'd above bis head. 

As when from some beleaguer'd town arise 

The smokes high curling to the shaded skies, 

Seen from some island, o'er the main afar, 

When men, distrest, hangout the sign of war, 

Soon as the sun in ocean hides his rays , 

Thick on the hills the flaming beacons blaze : 

With long- projected beams the seas are bright , 

And heaven's high arch reflects the ruddy light : 

So from Achilles' head the splendours rise, 

Pleflecting blaze on blaze against the skies. 

Forth march'd the chief, and, distant from the crowd, 

High on the rampart rais'd his voice aloud; 

W 7 ith her own shout Minerva swells the sound ; 

Troy starts astonish'd , and the shores rebound. 

As the loud trumpet's brazen mouth, from far, 

With shrilling clangour, sounds th' alarm of war, 

Struck from the walls , the echoes float on high , 

And the round bulwarks and thick towers reply : 

So high his brazen voice the hero reai'd ; 

Hosts drop their arms , and trembled as they heard ; 

And back the chariots roll , and coursers bound , 

And steeds and men lie mingled on the ground. 

Aghast they see the living lightnings play, 

And turn their eye-balls from the flashing ray. 

Thrice from the trench liis dreadful voice he rais'd ; 

And thrice they fled, confounded and amaz'd. 

Twelve in the tumult w T edg'd , untimely rush'd 

On their own spears , by their own chariots crush' d : 

While , shielded from the dorts, the Greeks obtain 

The loug-contended carcase of the slain. 

A lofty bier the breathless warrior bears : 
Around , his sad companions melt in tears. 
But chief Achilles , bending down his head , 
Pours unavailing sorrows o'er the dead , 
Whom late triumphant , with his steeds and car, 
He sent refulgent to the field of w r ar ; 
"Unhappy change! now senseless, pale , he found , 
Stretch'd forth , and gash'd with many a gaping wound. 

Meantime, unweary'd with his heavenly way, 
In Ocean's waves th' unwilling light of day 



376 homer's ILIAD. 

Quencli'd his red orb, at Juno's high command, 
And from iheir labours eas'd th' Achaian band.- 
The frighted Trojans , panting from the war, 
Their steeds unharness'd from the weary car, 
A sudden council call'd: each chief appeared 
In haste , and standing ; for to sit they fear'd. 
'Twas now no season for prolonged debate ; 
They saw Achilles , and in him their fate. 
Silent they stood: Polydamas , at last, 
Skiil'd to discern the future by the past, 
The son of Panthus , thus express'd his fears ; 
The friend of Hector, and of equal years ; 
The self-same night to both a being gave , 
One wise in counsel , one in action brave : 

« In free debate , my friends , your sentence speak £ 
For me , I move , before the morning break , 
To raise our camp : too dangerous here our post , 
Far from Troy's walls , and on a naked coast. 
I deem'd not Greece so dreadful , while , engaged 
In mutual feuds , her king and hero rag'd ; 
Then , while we hop'd our armies might prevail , 
We boldly camp'd beside a thousand sail. 
I dread Pelides now : his rage of mind 
Not long continues to the shores confin'd , 
Nor to the fields , where long in equal fray 
Contending nations won and lost the day ; 
For Troy, for Troy, shall henceforth be the strife , 
And the hard contest not for fame , but life. 
Haste then to Ilion, while the favouring night 
Detains those terrors , keeps that arm from fight \ 
If but the morrow's sun behold us here , 
That arm , those terrors , we shall feel , not fear ; 
And hearts that now disdain, shall leap with joy, 
If heaven permits them then to enter Troy. 
Let not my fatal prophecy be true , 
Nor what I tremble but to think , ensue. 
Whatever be our fate , yet let us try 
What force of thought and reason can supply ; 
Let us on counsel for our guard depend ; 
The town, her gates and bulwarks shall defend. 
When morning dawns, our well- appointed powers y 
Array'd in arms 3 shall line the lofty towers. 



BOOK XVIII. 377 

Let the tierce hero then, when fury calls f 
Vent his mad vengeance on our rocky walls , 
Or fetch a thousand circles round the plain , 
Till his spent coursers seek the fleet again : 
So may his rage be tir'd and labour'd down, 
And dogs shall tear him ere he sack the town. » 

— « Return ! ( said Hector, fir'd with stern disdain ) 
What! coop whole armies in our walls again? 
Was't not enough, ye valiant warriors say, 
Nine years imprison'd in those towers ye lay % 
Wide o'er the world was Ilion fam'd of old , 
For brass exhaustless , and for mines of gold : 
But while inglorious in her walls we stay'd , 
Sunk were her treasures, and her stores decay'd : 
The Phrygians now her scatter'd spoils enjoy, 
And proud Maeonia wastes the fruits of Troy. 
Great Jove at length my arms to conquest calls , 
And shuts the Grecians in their wooden walls : 
Dar'st thou dispirit whom the gods incite? 
Flies any Trojan? I shall stop his {light. 
To better counsel then attention lend ; 
Take due refreshment, and the watch attend. 
If there be one whose riches cost him care , 
Forth let him bring them for the troops to share ' r 
'Tis better generously bestow'd on those , 
Than left the plunder of our country's foes. 
Soon as the morn the purple orient warms , 
Fierce on yon navy will we pour our arms. 
If great Achilles rise in all his might , 
His be the danger : I shall stand the fight. 
Honour, ye gods ! or let me gain or give , 
And live he glorious, whosoe'er shall live I 
Mars is our common lord, alike to all; 
And oft' the victor triumphs but to fall. 

The shouting host in load applauses join'd: 
So Pallas robb'd the many of their mind 5 
To their own sense condemn'd ! and left to choose 
The w orst advice , the better to refuse. 

While the long night extends her sable re : gii , 
Around Patroclus mourn'd the Grecian train. 
Stern in superior grief Pelides stood *, 
Those slaughtering arms , so us'd to bathe in blood r 



078 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

Now clasp his clay cold limbs : then gushing start 
The tears, and sighs hurst from his swelling heait. 
The liou thus , with dreadful anguish stung , 
Roars thro' the desert, and demands his young : 
When the grim savage to his rifled den 
Too late returning, snuffs the tract of men, 
And o'er the vales and o'er the forest bounds ; 
His clamorous grief the bellowing wood resounds, 
So grieves Achilles •, and impetuous vents 
To all his Myrmidons his loud laments. 

« In what vain promise , gods ! did I engage , 
When to console Meucetius' feeble age , 
I vow'd his much lov'd offspring to restore, 
Charg'd with rich spoils , to fair Opuntia's shore? 
But mighty Jove cuts short, with just disdain, 
The long , long views of poor designing man ! 
One fate the warrior and the friend shall strike, 
And Troy's black sands must drink our blood alike ; 
Me too a wretched mother shall deplore, 
An aged father never see me more ! 
Yet, my Patroclus ! yet a space I stay, 
Then swift pursue thee on the darksome waj r . 
Ere thy dear relics in the grave are laid, 
Shall Hector's head be offer'd to thy shade ; 
That , with his arras , shall hang before thy shrine \ 
And twelve , the noblest of the Trojan line , 
Sacred to vengeance , by this hand expire \ 
Their lives effus'd around thy flaming pyre. 
Thus let me lie till then ! thus , closely prest , 
Bathe thy cold face , and sob upon thy breast ! 
While Trojan captives here thy mourners stay, 
Weep all the night , and murmur all the day : 
Spoils of my arms, and thine , when, wasting wide, 
Our swords kept time , and conquer'd side by side. » 

He spoke , and bid the sad attendants round 
Cleanse the pale corpse, and wash each honour'd wound, 
A massy caldron of stupendous frame 
They brought , and plac'd it o'er the rising flame *, 
Then heap'd ihe lighted wood ; the flame divides 
Beneath the vase , and climbs around the sides : 
In its wide womb they pour the rushing stream j 
The boiling water bubbles to the brim. 



BOOK XVI tl. 379 

The body then they bathe with pious toil , 

Embalm the pounds , anoint the limbs with oil ? 

High 011 a bed of state extended laid , 

And decent cover'd with a linen shade ; 

Last o'er the dead the milk white veil they threw; 

That done, their sorrows and their sighs renew. 

Meanwhile to Juno, in the realms above y 
His wife and sister, spoke almighty Jove: 
« At last thy will prevails: great Peleus 1 son 
Rises in arms : such grace thy Greeks have won. 
Say, for I know not, is their race divine", 
And thou the mother of that martial line"? » 

— « What words are these? ( th' imperial dame replies > 
While anger fiaslrd from her majestic eyes) 
Succour like this a mortal arm might lend , 
And such success mere human wit attend : 
And shall not I , the second power above , 
Heaven's queen, and consort of the thundering Jove ; 
Say, shall not I one nation's fate command , 
JN'ot wreak my vengeance on one guilty land? « 

So they. Meanwhile the silver-footed dame 
Reach'd the Vulcanian dome, eternal frame! 
High eminent amid the works divine, 
W here heaven's far-beaming brazen mansions shine. 
There the lame architect the goddess found , 
Obscure in smoke , his forces flaming round , 
While bath'd in sweat, from fire to fire he flew, 
And puffing loud, the roaring bellows blew. 
That day no common task his labour claim'd *, 
Full twenty tripods for his hall he fram'd , 
That plac'd on living wheels of massy gold , 
Wonderous to tell ! instinct with spirit roll'd 
From place to place, around the blest abodes . 
Self-mov'd , obedient to the beck of gods ! 
For their fair handles now, o'erwrought with flowers. 
In moulds prepar'd, the glowing ore he pours. 
Just as responsive to his thought the frame 
Stood prompt to move , the azure goddess came : 
Charis , his spouse , a grace divinely fair, 
With purple fillets round her braided hair, 
Observ'd her entering: her soft hand she press'd, 
Aad, smiling, thus the watery queen addres.d; 



38b homer's iliaeu 

« What , goddess ! this unusual favour draws! 
All hail , and welcome ! whatsoe'er the cause : 
Till now a stranger, in a happy hour 
Approach , and taste the dainties of the bower. » 
High on a throne, with stars of silver grac'd, 
And various artifice , the queen she plac'd : 
A footstool at her feet: then, calling, said : 
« Vulcan, draw near, 'tis Thetis asks your aid. » 
— « Thetis ( reply'd the god) our powers may claim y 
An ever-dear, an ever-honour'd name ! 
When my proud mother hurl'd me from the sky^ 
My aukward form , it seems , displeas'd her eye , 
She , and Eu^nome , my griefs redrest , 
And soft receiv'd me on their silver breast. 
Ev'n then, these arts employ'd my infant thought; 
Chains , bracelets, pendants , all their toys I wrought* 
3Nine years kept secret in the dark abode , 
Secure I lay , ccnceal'd from man and god ; 
Deep in a cavern'd rock my days were led ; 
The rushing ocean murmur'd o'er my head. 
Now, since her presence glads our mansion, say^ 
For such desert what service can I pay? 
Vouchsafe , O Thetis ! at our board to share 
The genial rites , and hospitable fare ; 
While I my labours of the forge forego , 
And bid the roaring bellows cease to blow, w 
Then from his anvil the lame artist rose j 
Wide with distorted legs , oblique he goes , 
And stills the bellows , and , in order laid , 
Locks in their chests his instruments of trade. 
Then with a sponge the sooty workman drest 
His brawny arms imbrown'd , and hairy breast. 
With his huge sceptre grac'd , and red attire , 
Came halting forth the sovereign of the fire ; 
The monarch's steps two female forms uphold. 
That mov'd and breath'd , in animated gold : 
To whom was voice , and sense , and science giveii 
Of works divine, such wonders are in heaven! 
On these supported , with unequal gait , 
He reach'd the throne where pensive Thetis sat; 
There plac'd beside her on the shining frame , 
He thus address'd the silver-footed dame ; 



BOOK XVIII. 38i 

<x Thee , welcome goddess ! what occasion calls , 

So long a stranger , to these honour'd walls? 

'Tis thine , fair Thetis , the command to lay, 

And Vulcan's joy and duty to obey. » 

To whom the mournful mother thus replies ; 

The crystal drops stood trembling in her eyes : 

<r< O VuJcan ! say, was ever breast divine 

So pierc'd with sorrows , so o'erwhelm'd as mine \ 

Of all the goddesses , did Jove prepare 

For Thetis only such a weight of care \ 

I, only I, of all the watery race, 

By force subjected to a man's embrace, 

Who , sinking now with age and sorrow, pays 

The mighty fine impos'd on length of days. 

Sprung from my bed , a godlike hero came , 

The bravest sure that ever bore the name ; 

Like some fair plant beneath my careful hand 
He grew, he flourished. , and he grac'd the land ; 
To Troy I sent him , but his native shore , 
Never, ah never, shall receive him more; 
Ev'n while he lives , he wastes with secret woe ; 
Nor I , a goddess , can retard the blow ! 
Robb'd of the prize the Grecian suffrage gave , 
The king of nations fbrc'd his royal slave : 
For this he griev'd ; and till the Greeks , opprest, 
Requir'd his arm , he sorrow'd unredrest. 
Large gifts they promise , and their elders send j 
In vain — He arms not , but permits his friend 
His arms, his steeds , his forces, to employ ; 
He marches , combats , almost conquers Troy ; 
Then slain by Phcebus , Hector had the name 7 
At once resigns his armour, life , and fame. 
But thou , in pity, by my prayer be won ; 
Grace with immortal arms this short-liv'd son , 
And to the field in martial pomp restore , 
To shine with glory, till he shines no more ! *» 

To her the artist-god : « Thy griefs resign , 
Secure, what Vulcan can , is ever thine. 
O could I hide him from the fates as well , 
Or with these hands the cruel stroke repel, 
As I shall forge most envy'd arms , the gaze 
Of wondering ages , and the world's amaze ! » 



082 homer's iliac. 

Thus having said , the father of the fires 
To the black labour of his forge retires. 
Soon as he bade them blow, the bellows tilrn'd 
Their iron mouths : and, where the furnace burn'd . 
Resounding breath'd : at once the blast expires , 
And twenty forges catch at once the fires ;* 
Just as the God directs, now loud, now low, 
They raise a tempest , or they gently blow. 
In hissing flames huge silver bars are rolFd , 
And stubborn brass , and tin , and solid gold : 
Before , deep fix'd , th' eternal anvils stand ; 
The ponderous hammer loads his better hand , 
His left with tongs turns the vex'd metal round, 
And thick strong strokes the doubling vaults rebound. 
Then first he form'd th' immense and solid shield j 
Rich various artifice emblaz'd the field; 
Its outmost verge a threefold circle bound; 
A silver chain suspends the massy round; 
Five ample plates the broad expanse compose, 
And godlike labours on the surface rose. 
There shone the image of the master-mind : 
There earth , there heaven , there ocean he design'd ; 
Th' unwearied sun , the moon completely round, 
The starry lights that heaven's high convex crown'd; 
The Pleiads , Hyads , with the northern team ; 
And great Orion's more refulgent beam ; 
To which , around the axle of the sky, 
The bear revolving, points his golden eye, 
Still shines exalted on th' setherial plain , 
Nor bends his blazing forehead to the main. 

Two cities radiaut on the shield appear, 
The image one of peace , and one of war ; 
Here sacred pomp^ and genial feast delight, 
And solemn dance , and Hymeneal rite ; 
Along the street the new-made brides are led , 
With torches flaming , to the nuptial bed ; 
The youthful dancers in a circle bound 
To the soft flute , and cithern's silver sound : 
Thro' the fair streets , the matrons in a row 
Stand in their porches , and enjoy the show. 

There , in the forum swarm a numerous train ; 
The subject of debate , a townsman slain : 



BOOK XVIII. JO 

$ne pleads the fine discharg'd , which one deny'd ? 
And bade the public and the laws decide; 
The witness is produc'd ou either hand ; 
For this, or that, the partial people stand: 
Th' appointed heralds still the noisy bands , 
And form a ring , with sceptres in their hands *, 
On seats of stone , within the sacred place , 
The reverend elders nodded o'er the case ; 
Alternate, each th' attesting sceptre took , 
And , rising solemn, each his sentence spoke. 
Two golden talents lay amidst , in sight , 
The prize of him who best adjugd'd the right. 

Another part , a prospect differing far, 
Glow'd with refulgent arms , and horrid war. 
Two mighty hosts a leaguer'd town embrace , 
And one would pillage , one would burn the place. 
Meantime the townsmen, arm'd with silent care, 
A secret ambush on the foe prepare : 
Their wives, their children , and the watchful band 
Of trembling parents, on the turrets stand. 
They march , by Pallas and by Mars made bold : 
Gold were the gods, their radiant garments gold. 
And gold their armour; these the squadron led, 
August, divine, superior b}- the head! 
A place for ambush fit, they found, and stood, 
Cover d with shields , beside a silver flood. 
Two spies at distance lurk, and watchful seem 
If sheep or oxen seek the winding stream. 
Soon the white flocks proceeded o'er the plains , 
And steers slow-moving , and two shepherd swains: 
Behind them, piping on their reeds , they go , 
Nor fear an ambush , nor suspect a foe. 
In arms the glittering squadron rising round , 
Rush sudden; hills of slaughter heap the ground; 
Whole flocks and herds lie bleeding on the plains , 
And, all amidst them, dead, the shepherd swaiiis ! 
The bellowing oxen the besiegers hear ; 
They rise, take horse, approach, and meet the war; 
They fight , they fall, beside the silver flood; 
The waving silver seem'd to blush with blood. 
There Tumult, there Contention, stood confest; 
One rear'd a dagger at a captive's breast. 



384 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

One held a living foe , that freshly bled 

With new made wounds ; afiother dragg'd a dead. 

Now here , now there , the carcases they tore : 

Fate stalk'd amidst them, grim with human gore. 

And the whole war came out , and met the eye ; 

And each hold figure seem'd to live , or die. 

A field deep-furrow'd next the god design'd , 
The third time labour 1 d by the sweating hind; 
The shining sharef- full many ploughmen guide , 
And turn their crooked yokes on every side ; 
Still as at either end they wheel around , 
The master meets them with his goblet crown'd : 
The hearty draught rewards , renews their toil , 
Then back the turning plough -shares cleave the soil : 
Behind , the rising earth in ridges roll'd , 
And sable look'd , tho' form'd of molten gold. 

Another field rose high with waving grain ; 
With bended sickles stand the reaper train : 
Here, stretch' d in ranks, the levell'd swathes are found, 
Sheaves heap'd on sheaves here thicken up the ground. 
With sweeping stroke the mowers strow the lauds; 
The gatherers follow , and collect in bands ; 
And last the children, in whose arms are borne , 
Too short to grip there, the brown sheaves of corn. 
The rustic monarch of the field descries, 
With silent glee , the heaps around him rise. 
A ready banquet on the turf is laid, 
Beneath an ample oak's expanded shade. 
The victim-ox the sturdy youths prepare ; 
The reaper's due repast , the women's care. 

Next , ripe in yellow gold, a vineyard shines , 
Bent with the ponderous harvest of its vines ; 
A deeper dye the dangling clusters show, 
And , curl'd on silver props , in order glow : 
A darker metal mixt intrench'd the place ; 
And pales of glittering tin th' enclosure grace. 
To this , one path- way gently winding leads , 
Where march a train with baskets on their heads , 
Fair maids and blooming youths , that smiling bear 
The purple product of th' autumnal year. 
To these a youth awakes the warbling strings, 
Whose tender lay the fate of Linus sings ; 



BOOK XVIII. 3 

In measured dance behind him move the train , 
Tune soft the voice , and answer to the strain. 

Here, herds of oxen march, erect and hold, 
Rear high their horns, and seem to low in gold, 
And speed to meadows , on whose sounding shores 
A rapid torrent thro' the rushes roars : 
Four golden herdsmen as their guardians stand , 
And nine sour dogs complete the rustic hand. 
Two lions rushing from the wood appear'd , 
And seiz'd a hull , the master of the herd: 
He roar'd : in vain the dogs , the men , withstood ; 
They tore his flesh , and drank the sable blood. 
The dogs , oft cheer'd in vain , desert the prey^ 
Dread the grim terrors , and at distance bay. 

Next this , the eye the art of Vulcan leads 
Deep thro' fair forests , and a length of meads : 
And stalls , and folds , and scatter'd cots between; 
And fleecy flocks , that whiten all the scene. 

A figur'd dance succeeds : such once was seen 
In lofty Gnossus , for the Cretan queen , 
Form'd by Daedalean art : a comely band 
Of youths and maidens, bounding hand in hand : 
The maids in soft cymars of linen drest ; 
The youths all graceful in the glossy vest ; 
Of those the locks with flowery wreaths inrolPd, 
Of these the sides adorn'd with swords of gold, 
That, glittering gay, from silver belts depend. 
Now ail at once they rise , at once descend 
With well- taught feet ; now shape, in oblique ways, 
Confus'dly regular, the moving maze : 
Now forth at once , too swift for sight , they spring , 
And undistinguish'd blend the flying ring : 
So whirls a wheel , in giddy circle tost , 
And, rapid as it runs, the single spokes are lost : 
The gazing multitudes admire around; 
Two active tumblers in the centre bound ; 
Now high , now low, their pliant limbs they bend, 
And general songs the sprightly revel end. 

Thus the broad shield complete the artist crowuM 
With his last hand , and pour'd the ocean round: 
In living silver seem'd the waves to roll , 
And beat the buckler's verge, and bound the whole. 

*7 



386 HOMER'S ILIAD. BOOK XVIII, 

This done, whatever a warrior's use requires 
He forg'd •, the cuirass that outshines the fires , 
The greaves of ductile tin, the helm imprest 
With various sculpture , and the golden crest. 
At Thetis' feet the finish'd labour lay : 
She , as a falcon , cuts th' aerial way , 
Swift from Olympus' snowy summit flies, 
And bears the blazing present thro' the skies. 



THE ARGUMENT. 

The reconciliation of Achilles and Agamemnon. 

Thetis brings to her son the armour made by Vulcan. Sha 
preserves the body of his friend from corruption , and com- 
mands him to assemble the army, to declare his resentment 
at an end. Agamemnon and Achilles are solemnly recon- 
ciled : the speeches , presents , and ceremonies on that 
occasion. Achilles is with great difficulty persuaded to re- 
frain from the battle till the troops have refreshed them* 
selves , by the advice oi Ulysses. The presents are convey'd 
to the tent of Achilles ; where Briseis laments over the body 
of Patroclus. The hero obstinately refuses all repast , and 
gives himself up to lamentations for his friend. Minerva 
descends to strengthen him , by the order of Jupiter. He 
arms for the fight : his appearance described. He addresses 
himself to his horses, and reproaches them with the death 
of Patroclus. One of them is miraculously endued with 
voice , and inspired to prophecy his fate ; but the hero , not 
astonish'd by that prodigy, rushes with fury to the combat, 
-The thirtieth day. The scene is on the sea-shore, 



THE 

ILIAD. 

BOOK XIX. 



s 



'oow as Aurora heav'd her orient head 
Above the waves, that blush'd with early red , 
With new-born day to gladden mortal sight , 
And gild the courts of heaven with sacred light , 
Th' immortal arms the goddess-mother bears 
Swift to her son : her son she finds in tears 
Stretch'd o'er Patroclus' corpse -, while all the rest 
Their sovereign's sorrows in their own exprest. 
A ray divine her heavenly presence shed , 
And thus , his hand soft touching , Thetis said : 

« Suppress, my son, this rage of grief, and know 
It was not man , but heaven , that gave the blow *, 
Behold what arms by Vulcan are bestow'd •, 
Arms worthy thee , or fit to grace a god. » 

Then drops the radiant burden on the ground ; 
Clang the strong arms , and ring the shores around s 
Back shrink the Myrmidons with dread surprise , 
And from the broad effulgence turn their eyes. 
Unmov'd the hero kindles at the show , 
And feels with rage divine his bosom glow ; 
From his fierce eye-balls living flames expire, 
And flash incessant like a stream of fire : 
He turns the radiant gift, and feeds his mind 
On all th' immortal artist had design'd. 

r Goddess! (he cry'd) these glorious arms that shine 
With matchless art , confess the hand divine. 
Now to the bloody battle let me bend : 
But , ah ! the relics of my slaughter'd friend ! 
In those wide wounds thro' which his spirit fled , 
Shall flies and worms obscene pollute the dead % » 

a That unavailing care be laid aside 
{ The azure goddess to her sou reply'd)*, 



3$jO HOMERS ILIAD. 

"Whole years untouch'd, uninjur'd shall remain, 

Fresh as in life, the carcase of the slain. 

But go, Achilles, as affairs require, 

Before the Grecian peers renounce thine ire ; 

Then uncontroul'd in boundless war engage , 

And heaven with strength supply the mighty rage ! » 

Then in the nostrils of the slain she pour'd 
iNectareous drops, and rich ambrosia shower'd 
O'er all the corpse. The flies forbid their prey , 
Untouch'd it rests, and sacred from decay. 
Achilles to the strand obedient went : 
The shores resounded with the voice he sent. 
The heroes heard , and all the naval train 
That tend the ships , or guide them o'er the main , 
Alarm'd, transported, at the well-known sound, 
Preqiien! snel foil, the great assembly crown'd j 
Studious to see that terror of the plain, 
Long lost to battle, shine in arms again. 

Tydides and Ulysses first appear, 
Lame with their wounds , and leaning on the spear; 
These on the sacred seats of council plac'd , 
The king of men , Atrides , came the last : 
He too , sore wounded by Agenor's son. 
Achilles, rising in the midst, begun : 

<c O monarch I better far had been the fate 
Of thee , of me , of all the Grecian state , 
If, ere the day when by mad passion sway'd, 
Hash we contended for the black- ey'd maid , 
Preventing Dian had dispatch'd her dart, 
And shot the shining mischief to the heart ! 
Then many a hero had not press'd the shore, 
Nor Troy's glad fields been fatten'd with our gore. 
Long , long shall Greece the woes we caus'd bewail, 
And sad posterity repeat the tale *, 
But this , no more the subject of debate , 
Is past , forgotten, and resign'd to fate : 
Why should, alas! a mortal man , as I, 
Burn with a fury that can never die ? 
Here then my anger ends : let war succeed , 
And ev'n as Greece has bled, let Ilion bleed* 
]\ T ow call the hosts , and try if, in our sight , 
Troy yet shall dare to camp a second night ? 



BOOK XIX. 091 

I deem their mightiest , when this arm he knows, 
Shall 'scape with transport , and with joy repose. » 

He said ; his finish'd wrath with loud acclaim 
The Greeks accept, and shour Pelides' name. 
When thus , not rising from his lofty throne , 
In state unmov'd , the king of men begun : 

« Hear me , ye sons of Greece ! with silence hear! 
And grant your monarch an impartial ear ; 
A while your loud , untimely joy suspend , 
And let your rash, injurious clamours end : 
Unruly murmurs , or ill-tim'd applause , 
Wrong the hest speaker, and the justest cause. 
Nor charge on me , ye Greeks , the dire debate : 
Know , angry Jove , and all-compelling fate , 
With fell Erinnys , urg'd my wrath that day 
When from Achilles' arms I forc'd the prey. 
What then could I, against the will of heaven? 
Not by myself, but vengeful Ate driven ; 
She , Jove's dread daughter, fated to infest 
The race of mortals, enter'd in my breast. 
Not on the ground that haughty fury treads , 
But prints her lofty footsteps on the heads 
Of mighty men ; inflicting as she goes 
Long festering wounds , inextricable woes ! 
Of old , she stalk'd amid the bright abodes ; 
And Jove himself, the sire of men and gods , 
The world's great ruler, felt her venom'd dart ; 
Deceived by Juno's wiles and female art. 
For when Alcmena's nine long months were run, 
And Jove expected his immortal son , 
To gods and goddesses th' unruly joy 
He show'd , and vaunted of his matchless boy : 
From us (he said) this day an infant springs , 
Fated to rule , and born a king of kings. 
Saturnia ask'd an oath , to vouch the truth, 
And fix'd dominion on the favour'd youth. 
The Thunderer, unsuspicious of the fraud , 
Pronounc'd those solemn words that bind a god. 
The joyful goddess , from Olympus' height, 
Swift to Achaian Argos bent her flight; 
Scarce seven moons gone , lay Sthelenus's wife ; 
She push'd her lingering infant into life : 



3c)2 HOMERS ILIAD. 

Her charms Alcmena's coming labours stay, 
And stop the babe , just issuing to the day. 
Then bids Saturnius bear his oath in mind ; 
A youth ( said she ) of Jove*s immortal kind 
Is this day born : from Sthenelus he springs , 
And claims thy promise to be king of kings. 
Grief seiz'd the Thunderer, by his oath engag'd ; 
Stung to the soul, he sorrow'd and he rag'd. 
From his ambrosial head, where perch'd she sate, 
He snatch'd the fury-goddess of debate , 
The dread , th' irrevocable oath he swore , 
Th' immortal seats should ne'er behold her more; 
And whirl'd her headlong down , for ever driven 
From bright Olympus and the starry heaven : 
Thence on the nether world the Fury fell ; 
Ordain' d with man's contentious race to dwell. 
Full oft the god his son's hard toils bemoan'd , 
Curs'd the dire fury, and in secret groan'd. 
Ev'n thus, like Jove himself, was I misled, 
While raging Hector heap'd our camps with dead* 
What can the errors of my rage atone? 
My martial troops , my treasures, are thy own ; 
This instant from ihe navy shall be sent 
Whate'er Ulysses promis'd at thy tent : 
But thou! appeas'd, propitious to our prayer, 
Resume thy arms , and shine again in war. fa 

— « O king of nations ! whose superior sway 
( Returns Achilles ) all our hosts obey ! 
To keep or send the presents be thy care , 
To us , 'tis equal ; all we ask is war. 
While yet we talk , or but an instant shun 
The fight, our glorious work remains undone k 
Let every Greek , who sees my spear confound 
The Trojan ranks , and deal destruction round, 
With emulation what I act survey, 
And learn from thence the business of the day.» 

The son of Peleus thus : and thus replies 
The great in councils , Ithacus the wise : 
« Tho', godlike , thou art by no toils opprest , 
At least our armies claim repast and rest: 
Long and laborious must the combat be , 
When by the gods inspir'd, and led by theev 



BOOK XIX. 3^3 

Strength is deriv'd from spirits and from blood , 

And those augment by generous wine and food: 

What boastful son of war, without that stay, 

Can last a hero thro' a single day \ 

Courage may prompt ; but , ebbing out his strength , 

Mere unsupported man must yield at length ; 

Shrunk with dry famine , and with toils declin'd , 

The drooping body will desert the mind : 

But built anew with strength -conferring fare , 

With limbs and soul untam'd , he tires a war. 

Dismiss the people then, and give command , 

With strong repast to hearten every band j 

But let the presents to Achilles made 

In full assembly of all Greece be laid. 

The king of men shall rise in public sight, 

And solemn swear, observant of the right , 

That, spotless as she came, the maid removes , 

Pure from his arms , and guiltless of his loves. 

That done , a sumptuous banquet shall be made , 

And the full price of injur' d honour paid. 

Stretch not henceforth , O prince ! thy sovereign might 

Beyond the bounds of reason and of right ; 

'Tis the chief praise that e'er to kings belonged , 

To right with justice whom with power they wrong'd. » 

To him the monarch *. « Just is thy decree ; 
Thy words give joy, and wisdom breathes in thea. 
Each due atonement gladly I prepare , 
And heaven regard me as I justly swear ! 
Here then a while let Greece assembled stay, 
IN or great Achilles grudge this short delay, 
Till from the fleet our presents be convey'd , 
And , Jove attesting , the firm compact made. 
A train of noble youths the charge shall bear *, 
These to select , Ulysses , be thy care : 
In order rauk'd let all our gifts appear, 
And the fair train of captives close the rear •, 
Talthybius shall the victim boar convey, 
Sacred to Jove , and yon brigbt orb of day. » 

— « For this ( the stern iEacides replies ) 
Some less important season may suffice, 
When the stern fury of the war is o'er, 
And wrath extinguished burns my breast no more. 



894 homer's ILIAD. 

By Hector slain, their faces to the sky, 
All grim with gaping wounds , our heroes lies : 
Those call to war! and might my voice incite , 
Now , now , this instant should commence the fight. 
Then, when the day's complete, let generous howls, 
And copious banquets , glad your weary souls. 
Let not my palate know the taste of food , 
Till my insatiate rage he cloy'd with blood ; 
Pale lies my friend , with wounds disfigur'd o'er, 
And his cold feet are pointed to the door, 
iievenge is all my soul! no meaner care , 
Interest , or thought, has room to harbour there ; 
Destruction be my feast, and mortal wounds, 
And scenes of blood , and agonizing sounds. » 
« O first of Greeks ! (Ulysses thus rejoined ) 
The best and bravest of the warrior kind ! 
Thy praise it is in dreadful camps to shine, 
liut old experience and calm wisdom , mine* 
Then hear my counsel , and to reason yield ; 
The bravest soon are satiate of the field * r 
Tho' vast the heaps that strow the crimson plain, 
The bloody harvest brings but little gain : 
The scale of conquest ever wavering lies, 
Great Jove but turns it , and the victor dies I 
The great, the bold, by thousands daily fall , 
And endless were the grief, to weep for all. 
Eternal sorrows what avails to shed \ 
Greece honours not with solemn fasts the dead :, 
Enough , when death demands the brave , to pay 
The tribute of a melancholy day. 
One chief with patience to the grave resigned , 
Our care devolves on others left behind. 
Let generous food supplies of strengh produce , 
Let rising spirits flow from sprightly juice , 
Let their warm heads with scenes of battle glow 
And pour new furies on the feebler foe. 
Yet a short interval , and none shall dare 
Expect a second summons to the war ; 
Who waits for that , the dire effect shall find ^ 
If trembling in the ships he lags behind. 
Embodied , to the battle let us bend , 
And all at once on haughty Troy descend. » 



BOOK XIX. 0<}5 

And now the delegates Ulysses sent 
To bear the presents from the royal tent. 
The sons of Nestor, Phyleus' valiant heir, 
Thias andMerion, thunderbolts of war, 
With Lycomedes of Creontiau strain , 
And Melanippus , form'd the chosen train. 
Swift as the word was given, the youths obey'd ; 
Twice ten bright vases in the midst they laid ; 
A row of six fair tripods then succeeds ; 
And twice the number of high-bounding steeds : 
Seven captives next a lovely line compose ; 
The eighth Briseis , like the blooming rose , 
Clos'd the bright band : great Ithacus , before , 
First of the train, the golden talentsbore ; 
The rest in public view the chiefs dispose , 
A splendid scene ! then Agamemnon rose : 
The boar Talthybius held : the Grecian lord 
Drew the broad cutlass , sheath' d beside his sword j 
The stubborn bristles from the victim's brow 
He crops , and offering , meditates his vow. 
His hands uplifted to th' attesting skies , 
On heaven's broad marble roof were fix'd his eyes ; 
The solemn words a deep attention draw , 
And Greece around sat thrill' d with sacred awe. 

« Witness thou first ! thou greatest power above ! 
All-good, all-wise, and all-surveying Jove ! 
And mother earth , and heaven's revolving light , 
And ye , fell Furies of the realms of night, 
Who rule the dead , and horrid woes prepare 
For perjur'd kings , and all who falsely swear I 
The black-ey'd maid inviolate removes , 
Pure and unconscious of my manly loves. 
If this be false, heaven all its vengeance shed, 
And level'd thunder strike my guilty head! i> 

With that , his weapon deep inflicts the wound ; 
The bleeding savage tumbles to the ground j 
The sacred herald rolls the victim slain , 
A feast for fish , into the foaming main. 

Then thus Achilles : « Hear, ye Greeks ! and know, 
Whate'er we feel , 'tis Jove inflicts the woe : 
Not else Atrides could our rage inflame , 
Nor from my arms , unwilling , force the dame. 



096 homer's iltad. 

'Twas Jove's high will alone , o'er-ruling all , 
That doom'd our strife, and doom'd the Greeks to folf : 
Go then , ye chiefs ! indulge the genial rite , 
Achilles waits you, and expects the fight. » 

The speedy council at his word adjourn'd ; 
To their blark vessels all the Greeks return'd. 
Achilles sought his tent. His train before 
March'd onward , bending with the gifts they bore 
Those in the tents the 'squires industrious spread : 
The foaming coursers to the stalls they led; 
To their new seats the female captives move : 
Briseis , radiant as the queen of love , 
Slow as she past, beheld with sad survey , 
W here , gash'd with cruel wounds, Patroclus lay. 
Prone on the body fell the heavenly fair , 
Beat her sad breast, and tore her golden hair : 
All beautiful in grief, her humid eyes, 
Shilling with tears , she lifts , and thus she cries r 

<c Ah ! youth for ever dear, for ever kind , 
Once tender friend of my distracted mind ! 
I left thee fresh in life , in beauty gay 1 
Now find thee cold, inanimated clay! 
AVhat woes my wretched race of life attend I 
Sorrows on sorrows , never doom'd to end ! 
The first-lov'd consort of my virgin bed 
Before these eyes in fatal battle bled I 
My three brave brothers in one mournful day 
All trode the dark , irremeable way ; 
Thy friendly hand uprear'd me from the plain ? 
And dry'd my sorrows for a husband slain •, 
Achilles' care you promis'd I should prove, 
The first , the dearest partner of his love ; 
That rites divine should ratify the band, 
And make me empress in his native land. 
Accept these grateful tears ! for thee they flow , 
For thee , that ever felt another's woe ! » 

Her sister captives echo'd groan for groan , 
Nor mourn'd Patroclus' fortunes , but their own : 
The leaders press'd the chief on every side, 
Unmov'd he heard them , and with sighs deny'd. 

« If yet Achilles have a friend whose care 
Is bent to please him , this request forbear ? 



BOOK XIX. 3p7 

Till yonder sun descend , ah let me pay 
To grief and anguish one abstemious day. » 

He spoke , and from the warriors turn'd his face t 
Yet still the brother-kings of Atreus' race, 
Nestor , Idomeneus , Ulysses sage , 
And Phoenix , strive to calm his grief and rage : 
His rage they calm not , nor his grief controul ; 
He groans , he raves, he sorrows from his soul. 

« Thou too , Patroclus ! ( thus his heart he vents ) 
Once spread th' inviting banquet in our tents : 
Thy sweet society, thy winning care , 
Oft stay'd Achilles , rushing to the war. 
But now, alas! to death's cold arms resign'd, 
What banquet but revenge can glad mj mind \ 
What greater sorrow could afflict my breast \ 
What more , if hoary Peleus were deceased? 
Who now , perhaps , in Pthia dreads to hear 
His son's sad fate , and drops a tender tear. 
What more , should Neoptolemus the brave, 
My only offspring, sink into the grave? 
If yet that offspring lives : I distant far, 
Of all neglectful , wage a hateful war. 
I could not this, this cruel stroke attend; 
Fate claim'd Achilles , but might spare his friend. 
I hop'd Patroclus might survive , to rear 
My tender orphan with a parent's care , 
From Scyros isle conduct him o'er the main , 
And glad his eyes with his paternal reign ^ 
The lofty palace , and the large domain; 
For Peleus breathes no more the vital air, 
Or drags a wretched life of age and care , 
But till the news of my sad fate invades 
His hastening soul , and sinks him to the shades. *> 

Sighing he said : his grief the heroes join'd ; 
Each stole a tear for what he left behind. 
Their mingled grief the sire of heaven survey'd, 
And thus, with pity, to his blue-ey'd maid : 

« Is then Achilles now no more thy care , 
And dost thou thus desert the great in war ? 
Lo , where yon sails their canvass wings extend , 
All comfortless he sits , and wails his friend : 



098 HOMERS ILIAD. 

Ere thirst and want his forces have opprest, 
Haste and infuse ambrosia in his breast. » 

He spoke , and sudden at the word of Jove 
Shot the descending goddess from above. 
So swift thro' aether the shrill harpy springs , 
The wide air floating to her ample wings. 
To great Achilles she her flight addrest , 
And pour'd divine ambrosia in his breast , 
With nectar sweet , refection of the gods ! 
Then , swift ascending , sought the bright abodes. 

Now issued from the ships the warrior train, 
And like a deluge pour'd upon the plain. 
As when the piercing blasts of Boreas blow , 
And scatter o'er the fields the driving snow ; 
From dusky clouds the fleecy winter flies , 
W hose dazling lustre whitens all the skies : 
So helms succeeding helms , so shields from shields 
Catch the quick beams , and brighten all the fields ; 
Broad glittering breast-plates , spears with pointed rays , 
Mix in one stream, reflecting blaze on blaze ; 
Thick beats the centre as the coursers bound , 
With splendour flame the skies , and laugh the fields around 

Full in the midst , high-towering o'er the rest , 
His limbs in arms divine Achilles drest ; 
Arms which the father of the fire bestow'd, 
Forg'd on th' eternal anvils of the god. 
Grief and revenge his furious heart inspire , 
His glowing eye-balls roll with living fire ; 
He grinds his teeth , and , furious with delay, 
O'erlooks th' embattled host , and hopes the bloody day. 

The silver cuishes first his thighs infold : 
Then o'er his breast was brac'd the hollow gold : 
The brazen sword a various baldric ty'd *, 
That starr'd with gems , hung glittering at his side ; 
And, like the moon, the broad refulgent shield 
Blaz'd with long rays , and gleam'd athwart the field. 

So to night-wandering sailors , pale with fears, 
Wide o'er the watery waste , a light appears , 
Which , on the far-seen mountain blazing high , 
Streams from some lonely watch-tower to the sky ; 
With mournful eyes they gaze , and gaze again ; 
Loud howls the storm, and driyes them o'er the main. 



r 



BOOK XIX. DCJ^ 

Next , his high head the helmet grac'd ; behind 
The sweepy crest hung floating in the wind : 
Like the red star, that from his flaming hair 
Shakes down diseases , pestilence and war : 
So stream'd the golden honours from his head, 
Trembled the sparkling plumes , and the loose glories shed. 

The chief beholds himself with wondering eyes I 
His arms he poises , and his motions tries ; 
Buoy'd by some inward force , he seems to swim , 
And feels a pinion lifting every limb. 

And now he shakes his great paternal spear, 
Ponderous and huge ! which not a Greek could rear. 
From Pelion's cloudy top an ash entire 
Old Chiron fell'd , and shap'd it for his sire ; 
A spear which stern Achilles only wields , 
The death of heroes , and the dread of fields. 

Automedon and Alcimus prepare 
Th' immortal coursers and the radiant car, 
The silver traces sweeping at their side ; 
Their fiery mouths resplendent bridles ty T d ; 
The ivory studded reins, return'd behind, 
Wav'd o'er their backs , and to the chariot join'd. 
The charioteer then whirPd the lash around, 
And swift ascended at one active bound. 
All bright in heavenly arms , above his 'squire 
Achilles mounts, and sets the field on fire *, 
Not brighter, Phoebus in th' ethereal way, 
Flames from his chariot , and restores the day. 
High o'er the host all terrible he stands, 
And thunders to his steeds these dread commands. 

« Xanthus and Belius ! of Podarges' strain, 
Unless ye boast that heavenly race in vain, 
Be swift , be mindful of the load ye bear, 
And learn to make your master more your care : 
Thro' falling squadrons bear my slaughtering sword , 
Nor, as ye left Patroclus, leave your lord. » 

The generous Xanthus , as the words he said , 
Seem'd sensible of woe , and dropp'd his head ! 
Trembling he stood before the golden wain , 
And bow'd to dust the honours of his mane ; 
W hen , strange to tell ! so Juno will'd , he broke 
Eternal silence , and portentous spoke. 



'* 



400 HOMER^S ILIAD. BOOK XIX, 

« Achilles ! yes ! this day at least we bear 
Thy rage in safety thro 1 the files of war ; 
But come it will , the fatal time must come , 
Nor ours the fault, but god decrees thy doom. 
INot thro 1 our crime , or slowness in the course ? 
Fell thy Patroclus, but by heavenly force; 
The bright far-shooting god who gilds the day, 
Contest we saw him , tore his arms away. 
IV o — could our swiftness o'er the winds prevail, 
Or beat the pinions of the western gale , 
All were in vain — the fates thy death demand, 
Due to a mortal and immortal hand. » 

Then ceas'd for ever, by the Furies ty'd, 
His fateful voice. Th' intrepid chief reply'd , 
With unabated rage : « So let it be ! 
Portents and prodigies are lost on me. 
I know my fates : to die , to see no more 
My much'-lov'd parents , and my native shore — « 
Enough- — when heaven ordains, I sink in night; 
INow perish Troy ! » He said, and rush'd to fight, 



I 



A 



THE ARGUMENT.' 

The battle of the gods , and the acts of Achilles. 

Jupitek, upon Achiiles's return to the battle, calls a council 
of the gods , and permits them to assist either party. The 
terrors of the combat described , when the deities are en- 
gaged. Apollo encourages AEneas to meet Achilles. After 
a long conversation, these two heroes encounter ; but AEneas 
is preserved by the assistance of Neptune. Achilles falls upon 
the rest of the Trojans, and is upon the point of killing 
Hector, but Apollo conveys him away in a cloud. Achilles 
pursues the Trojans with great slaughter. 

The same day continues. The scene is in the field before Troy 



THE 

ILIAD. 

BOOK XX. 



X h u s round Pelides , breathing war and blood , 
Greece , sheath'd in arms , beside her vessels stood ; 
While , near impending from a neighbouring height ? 
Troy's black battalions wait the shock of fight. 
Then Jove to Themis gives command to call 
The gods to council in the starry hall : 
Swift o'er Olympus' hundred hills she flies , 
And summons all the senate of the skies. 
These shining on , in long procession come 
To Jove's eternal adamantine dome. 
Not one was absent , not a rural power, 
That haunts the ver-dant gloom , or rosy bower. 
Each fair-hair'd dryad of the shady wood ? 
Each azure sister of the silver flood; 
All but old Ocean , hoary sire ! who keeps 
His ancient seat beneath the sacred deeps. 
On marble thrones with lucid columns crown'd , 
The work of Vulcan , sat the powers around. 
Ev'n * he whose trident sways the watery reign , 
Heard the loud summons , and forsook the main , 
Assum'd his throne amid the bright abodes , 
And question'd thus the sire of men and gods: 

ccYVhat moves the god who heaven and earth commands, 
And grasps the thunder in his awful hands , 
Thus to convene the whole sethereal state? 
Is Greece and Troy the subject in debate? 
Already met , the lowering hosts appear, 
And death stands ardent on the edge of war. 

'Tis true (the cloud-compelling power replies) 
This day we call the council of the skies 

* Neptune, 



5 



4<>4 HOMERS ILIAD. 

In care of human race ; ev'n Jove's own eye 
Sees with regret unhappy mortals die. 
Far on Olympus' top , in secret state , 
Ourself will sit , and see the hand of fate 
Work out our will. Celestial powers! descend, 
And , as your minds direct, your succour lend 
To either host. Troy soon must lie o'erthrown 
If uncontroul'd Achilles fights alone : 
Their troops hut lately durst not meet his eyes ; 
"What can they now, if in his rage he rise? 
Assist them , gods ! or Ilion's sacred wall 
May fall this day, tho' fate forbids the fall. » 

He said , and fir'd their heavenly breasts with rage : 
On adverse parts the warring gods engage. 
Heaven's awful queen ; and he whose azure round 
Girds the vast globe ; the maid in arms renown'd ; 
Hermes, of profitable arts the sire; 
And Vulcan , the Llack sovereign of the fire : 
These to the fleet repair with instant flight*, 
The vessels tremble as the gods alight. 
In aid of Troy, Latona , Phcebus, came, 
Mars fiery-helm'd , the laughter-loving dame , 
Xanthus, whose streams in golden currents flow, 
And the chaste Huntress of the silver bow. 
Ere yet the gods their various aid employ, 
Each Argive bosom swell'd with manly joy, 
While great Achilles , terror of the plain , 
Long lost to tattle , shone in arms again. 
Dreadful he stood , in front of all his host ; 
Pale Troy beheld , and seem'd already lost ; 
Her bravest heroes pant with inward fear, 
And trembling see another god of war. 

But when the powers descending swell'd the fight , 
The tumult rose; fierce rage and pale affright 
Vary'd each face ; then Discord sounds alarms , 
Earth echoes , and the nations rush to arms. 
Now thro' the trembling shores Minerva calls, 
And now she thunders from the Grecian walls. 
Mars hovering o'er his Troy, his terror shrouds 
Jn gloomy tempests , and a night of clouds : 
3\ow thro' each Trojan heart he fury pours , 
With voice divine , from Ilion's topmost towers ; 



BOOK XX. 4°5 

Now shouts to Simois , from her beauteous hill ; 

The mountain shook , the rapid stream stood still. 

Above , the sire of gods his thunder rolls , 

And peals on peals redoubled rend the poles. 

Beneath , stern Neptune shakes the solid ground ; 

The forests wave , the mountains nod around ; 

Thro' all their summits tremble Ida's woods , 

And from their sources boil her hundred floods. 

Troy's turrets totter on the rocking plain , 

And the toss'd navies beat the heaving main. 

Deep in the dismal regions of the dead 

Th' infernal monarch rear'd his hoary head, 

Leap'd from his throne , lest Neptune's arm should lay 

His dark dominions open to the day, 

And pour in light on Pluto's drear abodes , 

Abhorr'd by men , and dreadful ev'n to gods. 

Such war th' immortals wage ; such horrors rend 
The world's vast concave , when the gods contend. 
First silver-shafted Phcebus took the plain _ 
Against blue Neptune , monarch of the main ; 
The god of arms his giant bulk display'd, 
Oppos'd to Pallas, war's triumphant maid. 
Against Latona march'd the son of May ; 
The quiver'd Dian , sister of the day , 
Her golden arrows sounding at her side , 
Saturnia , majesty of heaven , defy'd. 
With fiery Vulcan last in battle stands 
The sacred flood that rolls on golden sands •, 
Xanthus his name with those of heavenly birth ? 
But call'd Scamander by the sons of earth. 

"While thus the Gods in various league engage , 
Achilles glow'd with more than mortal rage : 
Hector he sought ; in search of Hector turn'd 
His eyes around , for Hector only burn'd ; 
And burst like lightning thro' the ranks , and vow'd 
To glut the god of battles with his blood. 
^Eneas was the first who dar'd to stay ; 
Apollo wedg'd him in the warrior's way ; 
But swell'd his bosom with undaunted might , 
Half-forc'd and half-persuaded to the fight. 
Like young Lycaon, of the royal line , 
In voice and aspect seem'd the power divine ; 



4o6 HOMER'S ILIAD, 

And bade the chief reflect how late with scorn 
In distant threats he brav'd the goddess born. 

Then thus the hero of Anchises' strain : 
« To meet Pelides you persuade in vain : 
Already have I met, nor, void of fear, 
Observ'd the fury of his flying spear; 
From Ida's woods he chac'd us to the field , 
Our force he scattered , and our herds he kill'd : 
Lyrnessus, Pedassus, in ashes lay, 
But , Jove assisting , I surviv'd the day ; 
Else had I sunk, oppress'd in fatal fi^ht 
By fierce Achilles and Minerva's might. 
Where'er he mov'd the goddes shone before, 
And bath'd his brazen lance in hostile gore. 
What mortal man Achilles can sustain ? 
Th' immortals guard him thro' the dreadful plain , 
And suffer not his dart to fall in vain. 
"Were God my aid , this arm should check his power , 
Tho' strong in battle as a brazen tower. » 

To whom the son of Jove : « That god implore , 
And be what great Achilles was before. 
From heavenly Venus thou deriv'st thy strain; 
And he , but from a sister of the main ; 
An aged sea-god, father of his line, 
But Jove himself the sacred source of thine. 
Then lift thy weapon for a noble blow, 
Nor fear the vaunting of a mortal foe. » 

This said , and spirit breath'd into his breast, 
Thro' the thick troops th' embolden'd hero prest : 
His venturous act the white-arm'd queen survey'd, 
And thus , assembling all the powers, she said : 

a Behold an action, gods ! that claims your care^ 
Lo ! great iEneas rushing to the war ; 
Against Pelides he directs his course, 
Phoebus impels , and Phoebus gives him force. 
Restrain his bold career *, at least , t'attend 
Our favour'd hero , let some power descend. 
To guard his life, and add to his renown, 
We, the great armament of heaven, came down* 
Hereafter let him fall , as Fates design , 
That spun so short his life's illustrious line : 



BOOK XX. 4.07 

But , lest some adverse god now cross his way , 
Give him to know what powers assist this day : 
For how shall mortals stand the dire alarms, 
When heaven's refulgent host appears in arms ? » 

Thus she ; and thus the god whose force can make 
The solid globe's eternal basis shake : 
x< Against the might of man , so feeble known , 
Why should celestial powers exert their own I 
Suffice from yonder mount to view the scene, 
And leave to war the fates of mortal men. 
But if th' armipotent , or god of light , 
Obstruct Achilles , or commence the fight, 
Thence on the gods of Troy we swift descend : 
Full soon, I doubt not, shall the conflict end; 
And these , in ruin and confusion hurl'd, 
Yield to our conquering arms the lower world. » 

Thus having said , the tyrant of the sea , 
Cerulean Neptune , rose and led the way. 
Advanc'd upon the field there stood a mound 
X3f earth congested , wall'd , and trench'd around j 
Iu elder times to guard Alcides made , 
The work of Trojans, with Minerva's aid, 
What time a vengeful monster of the main 
Swept the wide shore , and drove him to the plain. 

Here Neptune and the gods of Greece repair, 
With clouds encompass'd, and a veil of air : 
The adverse powers , around Apollo laid , 
Crown the fair hills that silver Simois shade. 
In circle close each heavenly party sat, 
Intent to form the future scheme of fate ; 
But mix not yet in fight, tho' Jove on high 
Gives the loud signal , and the heavens reply. 

Meanwhile the rushing armies hide the ground ; 
The trampled centre yields a hollow sound : 
Steeds cas'd in mail , and chiefs in armour bright , 
The gleamy champain glows with brazen light. 
Amid both hosts , a dreadful space ! appear , 
There great Achilles ; bold ^Eneas here. 
With towering strides iEneas first advanc'd ; 
The nodding plumage on his helmet dauc'd, 
Spread o'er his breast the fencing shield he bore, 
And, as he mov'd, his javelin flamed before. 



4o8 homer's iliau. 

Not so Pelides : furious to engage , 
He rusli'd impetuous. Such the lion's rage , 
Who viewing first his foes with scornful eyes, 
Tho' all in arms the peopled city rise, 
Stalks careless on with unregarding pride *, 
Till at the length , by some brave youth defy'd, 
To his bold spear the savage turns alone : 
He murmurs fury with an hollow groan *, 
He grins , he foams , he rolls his eyes around ; 
Lash'd by his tail his heaving sides resound ; 
He calls up all his rage \ he grinds his teeth , 
Resolv'd on vengeance , or resolv'd on death. 
So fierce Achilles on ^Eneas flies ; 
So stands iEneas , and his force defies. 
Ere yet the stern encounter join'd, begun 
The seed of Thetis thus to Venus' son ; 

« Why comes ./Eneas thro' the ranks so far? 
Seeks he to meet Acbilles' arm in war, 
In hope the realms of Priam to enjoy , 
And prove his merits to the throne of Troy ? 
Grant that beneath thy lance Achilles dies, 
The partial monarch may refuse the prize ; 
Sons he has many •, those thy pride may quell ■ 
And 'tis his fault to love those sons too well. 
Or, in reward of thy victorious hand, 
Has Troy propos'd some spacious tract of land ? 
An ample forest or a fair domain, 
Of hills for vines, and arable for grain? 
Ev'n this, perhaps, will hardly prove thy lot. 
But can Achilles be so soon forgot ? 
Once, as I think, you saw this brandish'd spear, 
And then the great iEneas seem'd to fear. 
With hearty haste from Ida's mount he fled , 
Nor , till he reach'd Lyrnessus, turn'd his head. 
Her lofty walls not long our progress stay'd *, 
Those , Pallas , Jove , and we , in ruins laid : 
In Grecian chains her captive race were cast; 
'Tis true , the great iEneas fled too fast. 
Defrauded of my conquest once before, 
W hat then I lost , the gods this day restore. 
Go; while thou may'st, avoid the tbreaten'd fate*, 
Fools stay to feel it, and are wise too late. » 



BOOK XX. 4°9 

To this Anchises' son : « Such words employ 
To one that fears thee, some unwarlike boy, 
Such we disdain ; the best may be defy'd 
With mean reproaches, and unmanly pride : 
Unworthy the high race from which we came , 
ProcJaim'd so loudly by the voice of fame *, 
jEach from illustrious fathers draws his line ; 
Each gcddess-born ; half human, half divine. 
Thetis', this day , or Venus' offspring dies , 
And tears shall trickle from celestial eyes : 
For when two heroes , thus deriv'd , contend , 
'Tis not in words the glorious strife can end. 
If yet thou farther seek to learn my birth , 
A tale resounded thro' the spacious earth , 
Hear how the glorious origin we prove 
From ancient Dardanus , the first from Jove : 
Dardania's walls he rais'd ; for Ilion then , 
The city since of many-languag'd men, 
Was not. The natives were content to till 
The shady foot of Ida's fountful hill. 
From Dardanus, great Erichthonius springs, 
The richest , once , of Asia's wealthy kings *, 
Three thousand mares his spacious pastures bred , 
Three thousand foals beside their mothers fed. 
Boreas, enamour'd of the sprightly train, 
Couceal'd his godhead in a Mowing mane , 
With voice dissembled to his loves he neigh'd , 
And cours'd the dappled beauties o'er the mead : 
Hence sprung twelve others of uurival'd kind , 
Swift as their mother mares, and father wind. 
These, lightly skimming when they swept the plain, 
Nor ply'd the grass, nor bent the tender grain; 
And when along the level seas they Hew, 
Scarce on the surface curi'd the briny dew. 
Such Erichthonius was : from him there came 
The sacred Tros, of whom the Trojan name. 
Three sous renowu'd adorn'd his nuptial Led, 
Ilus, Assaracus, and Ganymed : 
The matchless Ganymed, divinely fair, 
Whom heaven, enamour'd, snatch'd to upper air, 
To bear the cup of Jove : e^h-real guest, 
The grace and glory of th' ambrosial /east. 

*3 



4 l ° homer's iljad. 

The two remaining sons the line divide : 

First rose Laoraedon from II us' side ; 

From him Tithonus, now in cares grown old, 

And Priam , hlest with Hector , brave and bold ; 

Clytius and Larnpus, ever-honour'd pair ; 

And Hicetaon , thunderbolt of war. 

From great Assaracus sprung Capys : he 

Begat Anchises , and Anchises me. 

Such is our race : 'tis fortune gives us birth , 

But Jove alone endues the soul with worth : 

He , source of power and might ! with boundless sway, 

All human courage gives or takes away. 

Long in the field of words we may contend, 

Reproach is infinite and knows no end, 

Arm'd or with truth or falsehood , right or wrong , 

So voluble a weapon is the tongue ; 

Wounded we wound 5 and neither side can fail , 

For every man has equal strength to rail : 

"Women alone, when in the streets they jar, 

Perhaps excel us in the wordy war; 

Like us they stand, encompass'd with the crowd, 

And vent their anger impotent and loud. 

Cease then — Our business in the field of fight 

Is not to question , but to prove , our might. 

To all those insults thou hast offer'dhere, 

Receive this answer : 'tis my flying spear. » 

He spoke. With all his force the javelin flung , 
Fix'd deep , and loudly in the buckler rung. 
Far on his out-stretch'd arm Pelides held , 
To meet the thundering lance , his dreadful shield , 
That trembled as it stuck ; nor , void of fear , 
Saw , ere it fell , th' immeasurable spear. 
His fears were vain ; impenetrable charms 
Secur'd the temper of th' ethereal arms, 
Thro' two strong plates the point its passage held, 
But stopp'd , and rested , by the third repell'd *, 
Five plates of various metal, various mould, 
Compos'd the shield ; of brass each outward fold , 
Of tin each inward, and the middle gold : 
There stuck the lance. Then rising ere he threw , 
Tke forceful spear of great Achilles flew , 



BOOK XX. 4 11 

And pierc'd the Dardan's shield's extremest bound , 

Where the shrill brass return' d a sharper sound ; 

Thro' the thin verge the Pelian weapon glides , 

And the slight covering of expanded, hides. 

iEneas his contracted body bends , 

And o'er him high the riven targe extends ? 

Sees thro' its parting plates, the upper air, 

And at his back perceives the quivering spear. 

A fate so near him , chills his soul with fright , 

And swims before bis eyes the many- col our'd light, 

Achilles , rushing in with dreadful cries , 

Draws his broad blade , and at iEneas flies : 

iEneas , rouzing as the foe came on , 

With force -collected , heaves a mighty stone : 

A mass enormous! which in modern days 

No two of earth's degenerate sons could raise. 

IBut ocean's god, whose earthquakes rock the ground, 

Saw the distress , and mov'd the powers around. 

Lo ! on the brink of fate zEneas stands , 
An instant victim to Achilles' hands ; 
By Phoebus urg'd ; but Phoebus has bestow'd 
His aid in vain : the man o'erpowers the god. 
« And can ye see this righteous chief atone , 
With guiltless blood, for vices not his own; 
To all the gods his constant vows were paid : 
Sure , tho' he wars for Troy, he claims our aid. 
Fate wills not this ; nor thus can Jove resign 
The future father of the Dardan line : 
The first great ancestor obtain'd his grace, 
And still his love descends on all the* race. 
For Priam now , and Priam's faithless kind, 
At length are odious to tlr all -seeing mind ; 
On great iEneas shall devolve the reign , 
And sons succeeding sons the lasting line sustain. » 

The great earth-shaker thus : to whom replies 
Th' imperial goddess with the radiant eyes : 
« Good as he is , to immolate or spare 
The Dardan prince, O JNeptune, be thy care ; 
Pallas and I, by all that gods can bind, 
Have sworn destruction to the Trojan kind ; 
Not ev'n an instant to protract their fate, 
Or save one member of the sinking state ; 



4*2 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

Till her last flame be quench'd with her last gore , 

And ev'n her crumbling ruins are no more. » 

The king of ocean to the fight descends , 
Thro' all the whistling darts his course he bends, 
Swift iuterpos'd between the warriors flies , 
And casts thick darkness o'er Achilles' eyes. 
From great ^Eneas' shield the spear he drew, 
And at its master's feet the weapon threw. 
That done, with force divine he snatch'd on high 
The Dardan prince, and bore him thro' the sky, 
Smooth gliding without step, above the heads 
Of warring heroes , and of bounding steeds : 
Till at the battle's utmost verge they light , 
Where the slow Caucans close the rear of fight. 
The godhead there, his heavenly form confess'd , 
With words like these the panting chief address'd: 
« W T hat power, O prince, with force inferior far, 
Urg'd thee to meet Achilles' arm in war? 
Henceforth beware , nor antedate thy doom , 
Defrauding fate of all thy fame to come. 
But when the day decreed, for come it must, 
Shall lay this dreadful hero in the dust, 
Let then the furies of that arm be known , 
Secure , no Grecian force transcends thy own. » 

With that, he left him wondering as he lay, 
Then from Achilles chas'd the mist away : 
Sudden, returning with the stream of light, 
The scene of war came rushing on his sight. 
Then thus, amaz'd : a What wonders strike my mind J 
My spear , that parted on the wings of wind , 
Laid here before me ! and the Dardan lord 
That fell this instant, vanish'd from my sword 1 
I thought alone with mortals to contend , 
But powers celestial sure this foe defend. 
Great as he is , our arm he scarce will try, 
Content for once , with all his gods , to fly. 
Now then let others bleed » — This said , aloud 
He vents his fury, and inflames the crowd : 
« O Greeks (he cries, and every rank alarms), 
Join battle , man to man , and arms to arms ! 
5 Tis not in me , tho' favour'd by the sky, 
To mow whole troops, and make whole armies fly : 



Bdok xx* 4i3 

No god can singly such a host engage , 
Not Mars himself, nor great Minerva's rage. 
But whatsoe'er Achilles can inspire , 
Whate'er of active force , or acting fire ; 
Whate'er this heart can prompt, or hand ohey; 
All, all Achilles, Greeks! is yours to-day. 
lino' yon wide host this arm shall scatter fear , 
And thin the squadrons with my single spear. » 

He said : nor less elate with martial joy, 
The godlike Hector warm'd the troops of Troy : 
« Trojans, to war! think Hector leads you on; 
Nor dread the vaunts of Peleus' haughty sou. 
Deeds must decide our fate. Ev'n those with words 
Insult the brave , who tremble at their swords : 
The weakest atheist wretch all heaven defies , 
But shrinks and shudders when the thunder flies. 
Nor from yon boaster shall your chief retire , 
Not tho' his heart were steel , his hands were fire : 
That fire, that steel , your Hector should withstand, 
And brave that vengeful heart , that dreadful haud. » 

Thus , breathing rage thro' all , the hero said ; 
A wood of lances rises round his head , 
Clamours on clamours tempest all the air, 
They join, they throng, they thicken to the war. 
But rhcebus warns him, from high heaven, to shun 
The single fight with Thetis' godlike son; 
More safe to combat in the mingled band , 
Nor tempt too near the terrors of his hand. 
He hears , obedient to the god of light , 
And , plung'd within the ranks , awaits the fight, 

Then fierce Achilles , shouting to the skies , 
On Trov's whole force with boundless fury flies. 
First falls Iphytion , at his army's head : 
Brave was the chief, and brave the host he led: 
From great Otrynteus he deriv'd his blood, 
His mother was a Nais of the flood : 
Beneath the shades of Tmolus , crown'd with snow. 
From Hyde's walls he rul'd the lands below. 
Fierce as he springs, the sword his head divides; 
The parted visage falls on equal sides : 
With loud-resounding arms he strikes the plain; 
While thus Achilles glories o'er the slain : 



4*4 HOMER T S ILIA1T. 

« Lie there , Otryntides ! the Trojan earth 
Receives thee dead , tho' Gygse boast thy birth : 
Those beauteous fields where Hyrlus' waves are rolM, 
And plenteous Hermes swells with tides of gold r 
Arc ihine no more » — Th' insulting hero said, 
And left him sleeping in eternal shade. 
The rolling wheels of Greece the body tore, 
And dash'd their axles with no vulvar gore. 

Dernoleoo next , Antenor's offspring, laid 
Breathless in dust, the price of rashness paid: 
Th' impatient steel with lull descending sway 
Forc'd thro' his brazen helm its furious way, 
Resistless drove the batter'd skull before, 
And dash'd and mingled all the brains with gor& 
This sees llippodamas, and, seiz'd with fright , 
Deserts his chariot, for a swifter flight : 
The lance arrests him : an ignoble wound 
The panting Trojan rivets to the ground. 
He groans a\v-i y his soul ; not louder roars , 
At Neptune's shrine on Helice's high shores, 
The victim bull: the rocks rebellow round, 
And Ocean listens to the grateful sound. 

Then fell 0.1 Poiyiore his vengeful rage, 
The youngest hope of Priam's stooping age , 
"Whose feet for swiftness in the race surpast 5 
Of all his sons, the dearest and the last. 
To the forbidden held he takes his flight 
In the first foJly of a youthful knight , 
To vaunt his swiftness wheels around the plain, 
But vaunts not long, with all his swiftness slain. 
Struck where the crossing belts unite behind , 
And golden rings the double back-plate join'd : 
Forth thro' the navel burst the thrilling steel ; 
And on his knees with piercing shrieks he fell : 
The rushing entrails pour'd upon the ground 
His hands collect ; and darkness wraps him round* 
When Hector view'd , all ghastly in his gore , 
Thus sadly slain , th' unhappy Polydore , 
A cloud of sorrow overcast his sight •, 
His soul no longer brook'd the distant fight t 
Full in Achilles' dreadful front he came , 
And shook his jayelin like a waving flame*. 



BOOK Xlt. 4 X ^ 

The son of Peleus sees, with joy possest, 
His heart high-bounding in his rising breast : 
« And, lo! the man, on whom black fates attend; 
The man, that slew Achilles, in his friend! 
No more shall Hector's and Pelides' spear 
Turn from each other in the walks of war » — 
Then with revengeful eyes he scann'd him o'er : 
cc Come , and receive thy fate ! » He spoke no more. 

Hector , undaunted , thus : cc Such words employ 
To one that dreads thee , some unwarlike boy ; 
Such we could give , defying and defy'd , 
Mean intercourse of obloquy and pride 1 
I know thy force to mine superior far, 
But heaven alone confers success in war : 
Mean as I am, the gods may guide my dart, 
And give it entrance in a braver heart. » 

Then parts the lance : but Pallas' heavenly breath 
Far from Achilles wafts the winged death ; 
The bidden dart again to Hector flies , 
And at the feet of its great master lies. 
Achilles closes with his hated foe , 
His heart and eyes with flaming fury glow : 
But present to his aid Apollo shrouds 
The favour'd hero in a veil of clouds. 
Thrice struck Pelides with indignant heart, 
Thrice in impassive air he plung'd the dart : 
The spear a fourth time bury'd in the cloud ; 
He foams with fury, and exclaims aloud : 

c< Wretch ! thou hast 'scap'd again ; once more thy flight 
Has sav'd thee , and the partial god of light. 
But long thou shalt not thy just fate withstand , 
If any power assist Achilles' hand. 
Fly then , inglorious ! but thy flight this day 
"Whole hecatombs of Trojan ghosts shall pay. » 

With that, he gluts his rage on numbers slain : 
Then Dry ops tumbled to th' ensanguin'd plain, 
Pierc'd thro' the neck: he left him panting there, 
And slopp'd Demuchus , great Philetor's heir , 
Gigantic chief! deep gash'd th' enormous blade, 
And for tlie soul an ample passage made. 
Laogoaus and Dardumis expire, 
The valiant sons of an unhappy sire •, 



4*6 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

Both in one instant from the chariot hurl'J, 

Sunk in one instant to the nether world ; 

This difference only their sad fates afford, 

That one the spear destroyed, and one the sword. 

IVor lesa unpity'd , young Alastor bleeds ; 
In vain his youth , in vain his beauty pleads : 
In vain he begs thee with a suppliant's moan, 
To spare a form , an age , so like thy own 1 
Unbappy boy ! no prayer, no moving art, 
E'er bent that fierce , inexorable heart! 
While yet he trembled at his knees, and cry'd, 
The ruthless faulchion ope'd his tender side; 
The panting liver pours a Hood of gore 
That drowns his bosom till he pants no more. 

Thro* Mulius' head then drove th' impetuous spear, 
The warrior falls , trans hx'd from ear to ear. 
Thy life , Echeclus ! next the sword bereaves , 
Deep thro' his front the ponderous faulchion cleaves ; 
Wann'd in the brain the smoking weapon lies, 
The purple death comes floating o'er his eyes. 
Then brave Dcucation dy'd : the dart was flung 
Where the knit nerves the pliant elbow 7 strung; 
He dropt his arm , an imassisting weight, 
And stood, all impotent , expecting fale : 
Full on his neck the falling faulchion sped, 
From bis broad shoulders hew'd his crested head; 
Forth from the bone the spinal marrow 7 flies, 
And, sunk in dust, the corpse extended lies. 
Rhigmus , whose race from fruitful Thracia came, 
The son of Pireus , an illustrious name , 
Succeeds to fate : the spear his belly rends ; 
Prone from his car the thundering chief descends : 
The 'squire , w.ho saw 7 expiring on the ground 
His prostrate master, rein'd the steeds around : 
His back, scarce turn'd, the Felian javelin gor'd , 
And stretch'd the servant o'er his dying lord. 
As when a flame the winding valley fills , 
And runs on crackling shrubs between the hills ; 
Then o'er the stubbie up the mountain flies, 
Fires the high woods, and blazes to the skies , 
This way and that the spreading torrent roars j 
So sweeps the hero thro' the wasted shores s 



BOOK XX. 4 1 ? 

Around him wide, immense destruction pours, 
And earth is delug'd with the sanguine showers. 
As , with autumnal harvests cover'd o'er , 
And thick besti own , lies Ceres' sacred floor ; 
When round and round , with never weary'd pain , 
The trampling steers beat out th' unnumber'd grain : 
So the fierce coursers, as the chariot rolls, 
Tread down whole ranks , and crush out heroes' souls. 
Dash'd from their hoofs , while o'er the dead they fly, 
Black , bloody drops the smoking chariot dye : 
The spiky wheels thro' heaps of carnage tore , 
And thick the groaning axles dropp'd with gore. 
High o'er the scene of death Achilles stood , 
All grim with dust, all horrible in blood : 
Yet stjli insatiate , still with rage on flame ; 
Such is the lust of never-dying fame ! 



THE ARGUMENT. 

The battle in the river Scamander. 

The Trojans fly before Achilles ; some towards the town,, 
others to the river Scamander : he falls upon the latter with 
great slaughter ; takes twelve captives alive , to sacrifice to- 
the shade of Patroclus ; and kills Lycaon and Asteropams.. 
Scamander attacks him with all his waves : Neptune ancL 
Pallas assist the hero *, Slmois joins Scamander ; at length, 
Vulcan, by the inst gation 01 Jano, almost dries up the- 
river. This combat ended, the other gods engage each other- 
^Meanwhile Achilles continues the slaughter, drives the rest 
in : :o Troy; Agenor only makes a stand, and is conv y'd. 
away in a cloud by Apollo: who, to delude Achilles, takes 
upon him Agenor's shape, and, while he pursues him in 
that di guise , gives the Trojans an opportunity of rearing 
into their city. 

The same day continues. The scene is on the banks aadb 
the stream of Scamander. 



THE 

ILIAD. 

BOOK XXL 



Akd now to Xanthus' gliding stream they drove, 
Xanthus, immortal progeny of Jove : 
The river here divides the flying train, 
Part to the town fly diverse o'er the plain , 
Where late their troops triumphant bore the fight : 
Now chas'd , and trerahling in ignoble flight : 
These with a gather'd mist Saturnia shrouds , 
And rolls behind the rout a heap of clouds. 
Part plunge into the stream : old Xanthus roars , 
The flashing billows beat the whiten'd shores : 
With cries promiscuous all the banks resound , 
And here , and there , in eddies whirling round , 
The flouncing steeds and shrieking warriors drown'd. 
As the scorch'd locusts from their fields retire, 
While fast behind them runs the blaze of fire*, 
Driv'n from the land before the smoky cloud, 
The clustering legions rush into the flood : 
So , plung'd in Xanthus , by Achilles' force , 
Roars the resounding surge with men and horse. 
His bloody lance the hero casts aside , 
Which spreading tamarisks on the margin hide ; 
Then , like a god , the rapid billows braves , 
Arm'd with bis sword high-braudish'd o'er the waves : 
Now down he plunges , now he whirls it round , 
Deep groan'd the waters with the dying sound ; 
Repeated wounds the reddening river dy'd , 
An I the warm purple circled on the tide. 
Swift thro' the foamy flood the Trojans fly , 
And close iu rocks or winding caverns lie. 
So the huge dolphin tempesting the main , 
In shoals before him ily the scaly train •, 



4 2 ° HOMERS ILIAD. 

Confus'dly heap'd they seek their inmost caves , 
Or pant and heave heneath the floating waves. 
Now, tir'd with slaughter, from the Trojan band 
Twelve chosen youths he drags alive to laud; 
With their rich belts their captive arms constrains, 
Late their proud ornaments, but now their chains ; 
These his attendants to the ships ronvey'd, 
Sad victims! destin'd toPatroclus' shade. 

Then, as once more he plung'd amid the flood , 
The young Lycaon in his passage stood , 
The son of Priam , whom the hero's hand 
But late made captive in his father's land , 
As from a fig-tree top his sounding steel 
Lopp'd the green arms to spoke a chariot-wheel ' 7 
To Temuos' isle he sold the royal slave , 
M here Jason's sou the price demanded gave ; 
But kind Eetiou touching on theshore, 
The ransom \\ prince to fair Arisbe bore. 
r J en days were past, since in his father's reign T 
He felt the sweets of liberty again; 
The next , that god whom men in vain withstand , 
Gives the same youth to the same conquering hand ^ 
Now never to return ■! and doom'd to go 
A sadder journey to the shades below. 
IJis well-known face when great Achilles ey\l, 
The helm and visor he had cast aside 
With wild affright , and dropp'd upon the field 
His useless lance and unavailing shield, 
As trembling, panting, from the stream be fled 7 
And knock' d his faultering kuees , the hero said : 

« Ye mighty gods ! what wonders strike my view I 
Is it in vain our conquering arms subdue ? 
Sure I shall see yon heaps of Trojans kill'd, 
Rise from the shades, and brave me on the field: 
As now the cap live, whom so late I bound 
And sold to Leimios , stalks on Trojan ground I 
Not him the sea's unmeasur'd deeps detain , 
That bar such numbers from their native plain; 
Lo ! he returns. Try then , my flying spear ! 
Try , if the grave can hold the wanderer; 
If earlh at length this active prince can seize , 
Earth ? whose strong grasp has held down Hercules, x 



BOOK XXI. 4 21 

Thus while he spoke , the Trojan , pale with fears , 

Approach'd , and sought his knees with suppliant tears ; 

Loth as he was to yield his youthful breath , 

And his soul shivering at th' approach of death ? 

Achilles rais'd the spear, prepar'd to wound*, 

He kiss'd his feet , extended on the ground : 

And while , above , the spear suspended stood, 

Longing to dip its thirsty point in blood, 

One hand embraced them close , one stopt the dart ? 

While thus these melting words attempt his heart : 
h Thy well-known captive, great Achilles! see •, 

Once more Ly caon trembles at thy knee. 

Some pity to a suppliant's name afford , 

Who shar'd the gifts of Ceres at thy board ; 

Whom late thy conquering arm to Lemnos bore , 

Far from his father , friends , and native shore : 

A hundred oxen were his price that day , 

Now sums immense thy mercy shall repay. 

Scarce respited from woes I yet appear , 

And scarce twelve morning suns have seen me here; 

Lo ! Jove again submits me to thy hands , 

Again, her victim cruel Fate demands! 

I sprung from Priam , and Laothoe fair, 

Old Alte's daughter , and Lelegia's heir •, 

Who held in Pedasus his fam'd abode, 

And rul'd the fields where silver Satnio flowM: 

Two sons , alas ! unhappy sons , she bore ; j 

For ah ! one spear shall drink each brother's gore , 

And I succeed to slaughter'd Polydore 

How from that arm of terror shall I fly? 

Some demon urges! 'tis my doom to die! 

Jf ever yet soft pity touch'd thy mind , 

Ah ! think not me loo much of Hector's kind! 

Not Ihe same mother gave thy suppliant breath , 

With his , who wrought thy lov'd Patroclus' death. » 
Ihese words, attended with a shower of tears , 

The youth addrest to unrelenting ears : 

« Talk not of life , or ransom ( he replies ) ; 

Patroclus dead, whoever meets me, dies: 

In vaiu a single Trojan sues for grace ; 

But least , the sons of Priam's hateful race. 



4^2 HOMEft*S ILiAD, 

Die then, my friend ! what boots it to deplore? 
The great , the good Patrochis is no more ! 
He, far thy better., was foredoom'd to die, 
And thou, dost thou bewail mortality? 
Seest thou not me , whom nature's gifts adorn , 
Sprung from a hero , from a goddess born ; 
1 he day shall come, which nothing can avert, 
"When by the spear , the arrow, or the dart, 
By night or day, by force or by design, 
Impending death and certain fate are mine. 
D:e then. » — He said; and, as the word he spoke. 
The fainting stripling sunk before the stroke : 
His hand forgot its grasp , and left the spear, 
M hile all his trembling frame confest his fear. 
Sudden, Achilles his broad sw T ord display'd, 
And buried in his neck the reeking blade. 
Prone fell the youth ; and panting on the land, 
The gushing purple dy'd the thirsty sand : 
The victor to the stream the carcase gave, 
And thus insults him, floating on the wave : 
« Lie there, Ljcaon! let the fish surround 
Thy bloated corpse , and suck thy gory wound :'■ 
There no sad mother shall thy funerals weep , 
But swift Scamander roll thee to the deep, 
"Whose every wave some watery monster brings, 
To feast unpuuishM on the fat of kings. 
So perish Troy , and all the Trojan line! 
Such ruin theirs, and such compassion mine. 
What boots ye now Scamaader's worshipp'd stream, 
His earthly honours, and immortal name! 
In vain your immolated bulls are slain, 
Your living coursers glut his gulfs in vain: 
Thus he rewards you , with this bitter fate ; 
Thus, till the Grecian vengeance is complete? 
Thus is aton'd Patroclus' honour 1 d shade, 
And ihe short absence of Achilles paid » 

These boastful words provoke the raging god $ 
With fury swells the violated flood. 
What means divine may yet the power employ r 
To check Achilles , and to rescue Troy 1 
Meanwhile the hero springs, in arms to dare 
The great Asteropeus to mortal war 5 



BOOK xxr. 4 2 ^ 

The son of Pclagon, whose lofty line 
Flows from the source of Axius, stream divine I 
Fair Peribxa's love the god had crown'd y 
With all his refluent waters circled round. 
On him \chilles rush'd : he fearless stood, 
And shook two spears, advancing from the flood j. 
The flood inipell'd him, on Pelides' head 
T' avenge his waters chok'd with heaps of dead. 
IN ear as they drew , Achilles thus began : 

« What art thou , boldest of the race of man ? 
"Who , or from whence L . Unhappy is the sire 
"Whose son encounters our resistless ire. » 

— « O son of Peleus! what avails to trace 
( Pieply'd the warrior ) our illustrious race? 
From rich Paeonia's vallies I command , 
Arm'd with portended spears, my native band ; 
Now shines the tenth bright morning since I came 
In aid of Ilion to the fields of fame ; 
Axius, who swells with all the neighbouring rills , 
And wide around the floated region fills , 
Begot my sire , whose spear such glory won : 
Now lift thy arm , and try that hero's sou ! » 

Threatening he said : the hostile chiefs advance ; 
At once Asteropeus discharged each lance, 
For both his dexterous hands the lance could wield : 
One struck, but pierc'd not the Vulcanian shield-, 
One raz'd Achilles' hand ; the spouting blood 
Spun forth, in earth the fasten'd weapon stood^ 
Like lightning next the Pelian javelin files : 
Its erring fury hiss'd aloug the skies : 
Deep in the swelling bank was driven the spear r 
Ev'n to the middle earth'd , and quiver'd there. 
Then from his side the sword Pelides drew, 
And on his foe with doubled fury flew, 
The foe thrice tugg'd, and shook the rooted wood \ 
Repulsive of his might the weapon stcod : 
The fourth, he tries to break the spear in vaiu* r 
Bent as he stands, he tuml les to the plain : 
His belly open'd with a ghastly wound , 
The reeking entrails pour upon the ground. 
Beneath the hero's feet he panting lies, 
And his eye darkens 2 and his spirit lues : 



4^4 HOME&'s ILIAD. 

While the proud victor thus triumphing said , 
His radiant armour tearing from the dead : 

« So ends thy glory ! such the fate they prove , 
Who strive presumptuous with the sons of Jove. 
Sprung from a river didst thou boast thy line'? 
But great Saturnius is the source of mine. 
How durst thou vaunt thy watery progeny? 
Of Peleus, iEacus, and Jove, am I; 
The race of these superior far to those , s 
As he that thunders, to the stream that flows. 
W r hat rivers can, Scamander might have shown; 
But Jove he dreads, nor wars against his son. 
Ev'n Achelous might contend in vain , 
And all the roaring billows of the main. 
Th' eternal ocean , from whose fountains flow 
The seas, the rivers, and the springs below, 
The thundering voice of Jove abhors to hear , 
And in his deep abysses shakes with fear » 

He said : then from the bank his javelin tore , 
And left the breathless warrior in his gore. 
The floating tides the bloody carcase lave , 
And beat against it, wave succeeding wave ; 
Till, roll'd between the banks, it lies, the food 
Of curling eels, and fishes of the flood. 
All scatter'd round the stream , their mightiest slain ? 
Th' amaz'd Paeonians scour along the plain : 
He vents his fury on the flying crew , 
Thrasius , Astypylus , and Mnesius slew *, 
Mydon, Thersylochus , with iEnius fell; 
And numbers more his lance had plung'd to hell ; 
But from the bottom of his gulfs profound, 
Scamander spoke*, the shores return'd the sound; 

« O first of mortals ! for the gods are thine ? 
In valour matchless , and in force divine! 
If Jove had given thee every Trojan head, 
: Tis not on me thy rage should heap the dead. 
See ! my chok'd streams no more their course can keep . 
Nor roll their wonted tribute to the deep. 
Turn then, impetuous! from our injur' d flood; 
Content, thy slaughters could amaze a god. » 
In human form confess'd , before his eyes ? 
The riyer thus ; and thus the chief replies ; 



BOOK XXI. J{l5 

« O sacred stream ! thy word we shall obey , 
But not lili Troy the desthvd vengeance pay, 
IVot till within he; towers the perjur'd train 
Sha 1 ! pant and tremble at our arms again } 
]\ T ct till proud. Hector , guardian of her wall, 
Or stain this lance, or see Achilles fall. » 

He said, and drove with fury on the foe. 
Then to the godhead of the silver how 
The yellow flood began : « O son of Jove ! 
Was not ihe mandate of the sire above 
Full and express? that Phoebus should employ 
His sacred arrows in defence of Troy, 
And make her conquer, till Hyperion's fall 
In awful darkness hide the face of all? » 

He spoke in vain — the chief without dismay 
Ploughs thro 7 the boiling surge his desperate way, 
Then rising in his rage above the shores , 
From all his deeps the bellowicg river roars , 
Huge heaps of slain disgorges on the coast, 
And round the banks the ghastly dead are tost. 
"While ail before, the billows rang'd on high, 
A watery bulwark , screen the bands who fly. 
Now bursting on his head with thundering sound, 
The falling deluge whelms the hero round : 
His loaded shield bends to the rushing tide : 
His feet , upborne, scarce the strong flood divide, 
Sliddering, and staggering. On the border stood 
A spreading elm , that overhung the flood ; 
He seiz'd a bending bough, his steps to stay, 
The plant, uprooted, to his weight gave way, 
Heaving the bank , and undermining all ; 
Loud flash the waters to the rushing fall 
Of the thick foliage. The large trunk display M 
B?i4g'd the rough flood across : the hero stayM 
On this his weight, and, rais'd upon his hand, 
Leap'd from the channel, and regained the laud. 
Then blacken'd the wild waves, the murmur rose, 
The god pursues, a huger billow throws, 
And bursts the bank , ambitious to destroy 
The man whose fury is the fate of Troy. 
He , like the warlike eagle , speeds his pace , 
Swiftest and strongest of th' aerial race , 



4^6 HOMER^S ILIAD. 

Far as a spear can fly; Achilles springs 

At every bound ; his clanging armour rings : 

New here, now there, he turns on every side, 

And winds his course before the following tide; 

The waves flow after, wheresoe'er he wheels, 

And gather fast, and murmur at his heels. 

So when a peasant to his garden brings 

Soft rills of water from the bubbling springs, 

And calls the floods from high, to bless his bowers, 

And feed with pregnant streams the plants and flowers ; 

Soon as he clears whnte'er their passage staid, 

And marks the future current with his spade, 

Swift o'er the rolling pebbles, down the hills, 

Louder and louder purl the falling rills ; 

Before him scattering, they prevent his pains, 

And shine in mazy wanderings o'er the plains. 

Still flies Achilles, but before his eyes 
Still swift Scamander rolls where'er he flies : 
]\ot all his speed escapes the rapid floods; 
The first of men , but not a match for gods. 
Oft as he turn'd, the torrent to oppose , 
And bravely try if all the powers were foes; 
So oft the surge , in watery mountains spread , 
Beats on his back, or bursts upon his head. 
Yet dauntless still the adverse flood he braves, 
And still indignant bounds above the waves. 
Tir'd by the tides , his knees relax with toil ; 
"VVash'd from beneath him slides the slimy soil ; 
"When thus , his eyes on heaven's expansion thrown , 
Forth bursts the hero with an angry groan : 

«Is there no god, Achilles to befriend? 
rVo power t' avert his miserable end ? 
Prevent, oh Jove! this ignominious date, 
And make my future life the sport of fate. 
Of all heaven's oracles believ'd in vain , 
But most of Thetis, must her son complain ; 
By Phoebus' darts she prophesy'd my fall , 
In glorious arms before the Trojan wall. 
Oh! had I dy'd in fields of battle warm , 
Stretch'd like a hero , by a hero's arm! 
Might Hector's spear this dauntless bosom rend , 
And my swift soul o'ertake my slaughter'd friend I 



book xx r, 4^7 

Ah , no! Achilles meets a shameful fate ; 
Oh ! how unworthy of the brave and great! * 

Like some vile swain, whom , on a rainy day, ( 

Crossing a ford , the torrent sweeps away, I 

An unregarded carcase to the sea. » 

Neptune and Pallas haste to his relief, 
And thus in human form address the chief. 
The power of Ocean first : « Forbear thy fear, 
O son of Peleus ! Lo , thy gods appear ! 
Behold ! from Jove descending to thy aid 
Propitious Neptune, and the blue-ey'd maid. 
Stay, and the furious flood shall cease to rave t 
'Tis not thy fate to glut his angry wave. 
But thou , the counsel heaven suggests , attend ! 
Nor breathe from combat, nor thy sword suspend r 
Till Troy receive her flying sons , till all 
Her routed squadrons pant behind their wall t 
Hector alone shall stand his fatal chance ; 
And Hector's blood shall smoke upon thy lance. 
Thine is the glory doom'd. » Thus spake the gods: 
Then swift ascended to the bright abodes. 

Stung with new ardour, thus by heaven impell'd r 
He springs impetuous , and invades the field ; 
O'er all th' expanded plain the waters spread ; 
Heav'd on the bounding billows dance the dead , 
Floating 'midst scatter'd arms ; while casques of gold r 
And turn'd up bucklers , glitter'd as they roll'd. 
High o'er the surging tide , by leaps and bounds , 
He wades and mounts ;• the parted wave resounds. 
3N"ot a whole river stops the hero's course , 
While Pallas fills him with immortal force. 
With equal rage , indignant Xanthus roars , 
And lifts his billows, and o'erwhelms his shores. 

Then thus to Simois : « Haste , my brother flood , 
And check this mortal that controuls a god. 
Our bravest heroes else shall quit the fight, 
And Ilion tumble from her towery height. 
Call then thy subject streams, and bid them roar; 
From all thy fountains swell thy watery store-, 
With broken rocks , and with a load of dead , 
Charge the black surge , and pour it on his head. 



4^8 homer's Iliad. 

Mark how resistless thro' the flood he aoes , 
And boldly Lids the warring gods be foes i 
But not that force . nor form divine to fi.ht , 
Shall aught avail him , if our rage finite : 
Whelm'd under our dark gulfs those arms shall lie $ 
That blaze so dreadful in each Trojan eye*, 
And deep beneath a sandy mountain hurl'd , 
Immers'd remain this terror of the world. 
Such ponderous ruin shall confound the place, 
No Greek shall e'er his perish'd relics grace : 
No hand his bones shall gather, or inhume ; 
These his cold rites , and this his watery tomb. » 

he said ; and on the chief descends amain , 
Increas'd with gore , and swelling with the slain. 
Then murmuring from his beds , he boils , he raves , 
And a foam whitens on the purple waves : 
At every step, before Achilles stood 
The crimson surge , and delug'd him with blood. 
Fear touch'd the queen of heaven : she saw dismay'd , 
She call'd aloud , and summon'd Vulcan's aid. 

« Rise to the war! th' insulting flood requires 
Thy wasteful arm : assemble all thy fires ! 
"While to their aid, by our command enjoin'd, 
Rush the swift eastern and the western wind : 
These from old Ocean at my word shall bloWj 
Pour the red torrent on the watery foe , 
Corpses and arms to one bright ruin turn , 
And hissing rivers to their bottoms burn. 
Go , mighty in thy rage ! display thy power, 
Drink the whole flood, the crackling trees devour, 
Scorch all the banks ! and , till our voice reclaim , 
Exert th' unweary'd furies of the flame ! » 

The power igni potent her word obeys : 
Wide o'er the plain he pours the boundless blaze ; 
At once consumes the dead , and drys the soil , 
And the shrunk waters in their channel boil. 
As when autumnal Boreas sweeps the sky, 
And instant blows the water'd gardens dry : 
So look'd the field , so whiten'd was the ground , 
While Vulcan breath'd the fiery blast around. 
Swift on the sedgy reeds the ruin preys ; 
Along the margin winds the running blaze ; 



BOOK XXI. 4 2 9 

The trees in flaming rows to ashes turn , 
The flowery lotos , and the tamarisk burn , 
Broad elm , and cypress rising in a spire; 
The watery willows hiss before the fire. 
Now glow the waves , and fishes pant for breath , 
The eels lie twisting in the pangs of death : 
Now flounce aloft , now dive the scaly fry, 
Or, gasping , turn their bellies to the sky. 
At length the river rear'd his languid head, 
And thus , short-panting , to the god he said : 

« Oh, Vulcan ! oh ! what power resists thy might? 
I faint, I sink , unequal to the fight — 
I yield — Let Ilion fall, if fate decree ; 
Ah , bend no more thy fiery arms on me ! » 

He ceas'd ; wide conflagration blazing round ; 
The bubbling waters yield a hissing sound. 
As when the flames beneath a caldron rise , 
To melt the fat of some rich sacrifice , 
Amid the fierce embrace of circling fires , 
The waters foam , the heavy smoke aspires : 
So boils th' imprison'd flood, forbid to flow, 
And chok'd with vapours , feels his bottom glow. 
To Juno then , imperial queen of air, 
The burning river sends his earnest prayer: 

« Ah , why, Saturnia ! must thy son engage 
Me , only me , with all his wasteful rage ! 
On other gods his dreadful arm employ, 
For mightier gods assert the cause of Troy. 
Submissive I desist , if thou command; 
But ah! withdraw this all- destroying hand. 
Hear then my solemn oath , to yield to fate 
Unaided Ilion , and her destin'd state , 
Till Greece shall gird her with destructive flame, 
And in one ruin sink the Trojan name. » 

His warm entreaty touch'd Saturnia's ear ; 
She bade th' ignipotent his rage forbear, 
Recall the flame , nor in a mortal cause 
Infest a god : th' obedient flame withdraws : 
Again , the branching streams begin to spread , 
And soft re-murmur in their wonted bed. 

While these by Juno's will the strife resign , 
The warring gods in fierce contention join ; 



43o HOMER'S ILIAD, 

Rekindling rage each heavenly breast alarms ; 
With horrid clangor shock'd th' ethereal arms : 
Heaven in loud thunder bids the trumpet sound; 
And wide beneath them groans the rending ground. 
Jove , as his sport , the dreadful scene descries , 
And views contending gods with careless eyes. 
The power of battles lifts his brazen spear, 
And first assaults the radiant queen of war: 

« What mov'd thy madness , thus to disunite 
Ethereal minds , and mix all heaven in fight? 
What wonder this, when , in thy frantic mood , 
Thou drov'st a mortal to insult a god ? 
Thy impious hand Tydides' javelin bore , 
And madly bath'd it in celestial gore. » 

He spoke, and smote the loud-resounding shield, 
Which bears Jove's thunder on its dreadful field j 
The adamantine a?gis of her sire, 
That turns the glancing bolt and forked fire. 
Then heav'd the goddess in her mighty hand 
A stone , the limit of the neighbouring land , 
There fix'd from eldest times ; black, craggy, vast: 
This at the heavenly homicide she cast. 
Thundering he falls, a mass of monstrous size, 
And seven broad acres covers as he lies. 
The stunning stroke his stubborn nerves unbound; 
Loud o'er the fields his ringing arms resound : 
The scornful dame her conquest views with smiles, 
And , glorying , thus the prostrate god reviles : 

« Hast thou not yet, insatiate fury! known 
How far Minerva's force transcends thy own? 
Juno, whom thou rebellious dar'st withstand, 
Corrects thy folly thus by Pallas' hand ; 
Thus meets thy broken faith with just disgrace, 
And partial aid to Troy's perfidious race. » 

The goddess spoke, and turn'd her eyes away, 
That , beaming round , diffus'd celestial day. 
Jove's Cyprian daughter , stooping on the land , 
Lent to the wounded god her tender hand : 
Slowly he rises , scarcely breathes with pain , 
And, propt on her fair arm , forsakes the plain. 
This the bright empress of the heavens surve\'d, 
And , scoffing ; thus to war's victorious maid : 



BOOK XXI. /pi 

« Lo ! what an aid on Mars's side is seen! 
The smiles' and loves' unconquerable queen ! 
Mari; with what insolence , in open view , 
She moves : let Pallas, if she dares, pursue. » 

Minerva, smiling, heard, the pair o'ei took, 
And slightly on her breast the wanton strook : 
She , unresisting , fell *, her spirits lied ; 
On earth together lay the lovers spread. 
« And like these heroes , be the fate of all 
(Minerva cries) who guard the Trojan wall! 
To Grecian gods sucb let the Phrygians be, 
So dread, so fierce , as Venus is to me; 
Then from the lowest stone shall Troy be mov'd » • — 
Thus she ; and Juno, with a smile, approv'd. 

Meantime , to mix in more than mortal fight , 
The god of ocean dares the god of light. 
« What sloth hath seiz'd us , when the fields around 
Ring with conflicting powers, and heaven returns the sound? 
Shall, ignominious, we with shame retire, 
No deed perform'd , to our Olympian sire? 
Come , prove thy arm ! for first the war to wage y 
Suits not my greatness, or superior age. 
Rash as thou art to prop the Trojan throne , 
Forgetful of my wrongs, and of thy own, 
And guard the race of proud Laomedon ! > 

Hast thou forgot how, at the monarch's prayer, 
We shar'd the lengthen'd labours of a year? 
Troy's walls I rais'd , for such were Jove's commands , 
And yon proud bulwarks grew beneath my hands : 
Thy task it was to feed the bellowing droves 
Along fair Ida's vales and pendant groves. 
But when the circling seasons, in their train, 
Brought back the grateful day that crown'd our pain ; 
With menace stern the fraudful king defy'd 
Our latent godhead , and the prize deny'd : 
Mad as he was, he threaten' d servile bands , 
And doom'd us exiles far in barbarous lands. 
Incens'd , we heavenward fled with swiftest wing, 
And destin'd vengeance on the perjur'd king. 
Dost thou, for this , afford proud Ilion grace, 
And not, like us, infest the faithless race? 



43a homer's ILIAD. 

Like us , their present , future sons destroy, 

And from its deep foundations heave their Troy? » 
Apollo thus : « To combat for mankind 

III suits the wisdom of celestial mind : 

For what is man? calamitous by birth, 

They owe their life and nourishment to earth ; 

Like yearly leaves, that, now with beauty crown'd, 

Smile on the sun ; now wither on the ground. 

To their own hands commit the frantic scene, 

Nor mix immortals in a cause so mean. » 
Then turns his face, far-beaming heavenly fires, 

And from the senior power submiss retires ; 

Him, thus retreating, Artemis upbraids, 
The quiver'd huntress of the sylvan shades. 
« And is it thus the youthful Phoebus flies, 

And yields to ocean's hoary sire the prize? 

How vain that martial pomp, and dreadful show 

Of pointed arrows, and the silver bow ! 

Now boast no more , in yon celestial bower , 

Thy force can match the great earth-shaking power. » 

Silent , he heard the queen of woods upbraid : 
Not so Saturnia bore ihe vaunting maid ; 
But furious thus : « What insolence has driven 
Thy pride to face the majesty of heaven? 
What tho', by Jove the female plague design'd, 
Fierce to the feeble race of woman-kind , 
The wretched matron feels thy piercing dart; 
Thy sex's tyrant , with a tyger's heart I 
What tho', tremendous in the w r oodland chase , 
Thy certain arrows pierce the savage race ? 
How dares thy rashnqss on the powers divine 
Employ those arms, or match thy force with mine? 
Learn hence , no more unequal war to wage » — 
She said , and seiz'd her wrists with eager rage : 
These in her left hand lock'd , her right unty'd 
The bow, the quiver, and its plumy pride. 
About her temples flies the busy bow : 
Now here , now there , she winds her from the blow : 
The scattering arrows rattle from the case, 
Drop round , and idly mark the dusty place. 
Swift from the Geld the baffled huntress flies, 
And scarce restrains the torrent in her eyes : 



BOOK XXI. 4^3 

So j when the falcon wings her way above, 
To the cleft cavern speeds the gentle clove , 
Not fated yet to die ; there safe retreats , 
Yet still her heart against the marble beats. 

To her Latona hastes with tender care ; 
Whom Hermes viewing, thus declines the war : 
« Row shall I face the dame , who gives delight 
To him whose thunders blacken heaven with night? 
Go , matchless goddess ! triumph in the skies , 
And beast my conquest, while I yield the prize. » 

He spGke ; and past. Latcna, stooping low, 
Collects the scatter d shafts , and fallen bow , 
That , glittering on the dust , lay here and there ; 
Dishonour'd relics of Diana's war. 
Then swift pursu'd her to the blest abode, 
Where , albconfus'd, she sought the sovereign god ; 
"Weeping , she grasp'd his knees : tir ambrosial vest 
SI 00k with her sighs, and parted on her breast. 

The sire superior smil'd; and bade her snow 
What heavenly hand had caus'd bis daughter's woe? 
AhashM, she names his own imperial spouse ; 
And the pale crescent fades ujdou her brows. 

Thus they above : while , swiftly gliding down , 
Apollo enters Ilion's sacred town : 
The guardian god now trembled for her wall, 
And fear'd the Greeks, tho' Fate forbade her fall. 
Back to OI3 mpus , from the war's alarms , 
Keturn the shining bands of gods in arms ; 
Some proud in triumph, some with rage on (ire ; 
And take their thrones around th' ethereal sire. 

Thro' blood, thro 7 death, Achilles still proceeds, 
O'er slaughter'd heroes, and o'er rolling steeds. 
As when avenging flames, with fury driven, 
On guilty towns exert the wrath of heaven; 
The pale inhabitants, some fall, some fly; 
And the red vapours purple all the sky : 
So rag'd Achilles •, death, and dire dismay, 
And toils , and terrors , fill'd the dreadful day. 

High on a turret hoary Priam stands, 
And marks the waste of his destructive hands: 
Views, from his arm, the Trojans' scatter'd flight, 
And the near hero rising on his sight! 

*9 



434 IIOMER^ ILIAD. 

No stop, no check, no aid! With feeble pace, 

And settled sorrow on his aged face, 

Fast as he could, he sighing quits the walls; 

And thus, descending, on the guards he calls: 

« You , to whose care our city gates belong, 
Set wide your portals to the flying throng , 
For lo ! he comes with unresisted sway ; 
He comes , and desolation marks his way! 
But when within the walls our troops take breath , 
Lock fast the brazen bars, and shut out death. » 
Thus charg'd the reverend monarch : wide were flung 
The opening folds*, the sounding hinges rung. 
Phcebus rush'd forth, the flying bands to meet , 
Struck slaughter back , and cover'd the retreat. 
On heaps the Trojans crowd to gain the gate, 
And gladsome sec their last escape from Fate : 
Thither, all parch'd with thirst, a heartless train, 
Hoary with dust, they beat the hollow plain : 
And gasping, panting, fainting, labour on 
With heavier strides , that lengthen'd low'rd the town. 
Enrag'd Achilles follows with his spear, 
Wild with revenge , insatiable of war. 

Then had the Greeks eternal praise acquired , 
And Troy inglorious to her walls retir'd ; 
But he (*), the god , who darts ethereal flame , 
Shot down to save her, and redeem her fame. 
To young Agenor force divine he gave, 
Antenor's offspring , haughty , bold and brave; 
In aid of him, beside the beech he sat, 
And, wrapt in clouds , restrainM the hand of Fate. 
When now the generous youth Achilles spies , 
Thick beats his heart , the troubled motions rise ; 
So , ere a storm , the waters heave and roll ; 
He stops , and questions thus his mighty soul : 

« What! shall I fly this terror of the plain? 
Like others fly, and be like others slain? 
Vain hope 1 to shun him by the self-same road 
Yon line of slaughter'd Trojans lately trod. 
No : with the common heap I scorn to fall — 
What if they passed me to the Trojan wall, 

* Apollo. 



BOOK XXI. 4^5 

While I decline to yonder path , that leads 
To Ida's forests and surrounding shades? 
So may I reach, conceai'd, the cooling flood , 
From my tir'd hody wash the dust and blood , 
As soon as night her dusky veil extends, 
Return in safely to my Trojan friends. 
What if — But wherefore all this vain debated 
Stand I to doubt, within the reach of Fate? 
Ev'n now, perhaps, ere yet I turn the wall, 
The fierce Achilles sees me , and I fall : 
Such is his swiftness , 'tis in vain to fly, 
And such his valour, that who stands must die. 
Howe'er, 'tis better, fighting for the state, 
Here , and in public view, to meet my fate. 
Yet sure he too is mortal ; he may feel , 
Like all the sons of earth , the force of steel ; 
One only soul informs that dreadful frame , 
And Jove's sole favour gives him all his fame. » 

He said, and stood collected in his might; 
And all his beating bosom claim'd the fight. 
So from some deep-grown wood a panther starli, 
R.ous'd from his thicket by a storm of darts: 
Untaught to fear or fly, he hears the sounds 
Of shouting hunters , and of clamorous hounds ; 
Tho' struck , tho' wounded , scarce perceives the pain . 
And the barb'd javelin stings his breast in vain: 
On their whole war, untam'd , the savage flies , 
And tears his hunter, or beneath him dies. 
Not less resolv'd , Antenor's valiant heir 
Confronts Achilles , and awaits the war , 
Disdainful of retreat : high-held before , 
His shield , a broad circumference , he bore \ 
Then , graceful , as he stood in act to throw 
The lifted javelin , thus bespoke the foe : 

« How proud Achilles glories in his fame! 
And hopes, this day, to sink the Trojan name 
Beneath her ruins ! Know, that hope is vain 5 
A thousand woes , a thousand toils remain. 
Parents and children our just arms employ, 
And strong , and many, are the sons of Troy. 
Great as thou art , ev'n thou may'st stain with gore 
These Phrygian fields, and press a foreign shore. » 



436 HOMER^S ILIAD. BOOK XXI. 

He said: with matchless force the javelin flung 
Smote on his knee : the hollow cuishes rung 
Beneath the pointed steel •, but , safe from harms . 
He stands impassive in th' ethereal arms. 
Then, fiercely rushing on the daring foe, 
His lifted arm prepares the fatal blow. 
Uut , jealous of his fame , Apollo shrouds 
The godlike Trojan in a veil of clouds : 
Safe from pursuit, and shut from mortal view , 
Dismissal with fame, the favour'd youth withdrew. 
Meanwhile the god, lo cover their escape , 
Assumes Agenor's habit, voice, and shape, 
Flies from the furious chief in this disguise; 
The furious chief still follows where he liies. 
Now o'er the fields they stretch with lengthened strides, 
Now urge the course where swift Scamander glides : 
The god now distant scarce a stride before , 
Tempts his pursuit, and wheels about the shore ; 
While all the flying troops their speed employ, 
And pour on beaps into the walls of Tro\ . 
No stop, no stay, no thought to ask, or tell, 
Who scap'd by flight , or who by battle fell. 
'Twas tumult all , and violence of flight ; 
And sudden joy confus'd, and mix'd affright: 
Pale Troy against Achilles shuts her gate; 
And nations breathe , deliver'd from their fate. 



THE ARGUMENT. 

The death of Hector. 

Tur Trojans, being safe within the walls. Hector only stays 
to oppose Achilles. Priam is struck at his approach, and 
tries to persuade his son to re-enter the town. Hecuba joins 
her intreaties, but in vain. Hector consults within himself 
tvhat measures to take ; but at the advance of Achilles, his 
resolution fails him, and he flies; Achilles pursues him 
thrice round the walls of Troy. The gods debate concerning 
the fate of Hector; at length Minerva descends to the aid of 
Achilies. She deludes Hector in the shape of Deiphobus : 
he stands the combat, and is slain. Achilles drags the dead 
body at his chariot, in the sight of Priam and Hecuba. 
Thir lamentations , tears, and despair. Their cries reach 
the ears of Andromache , who, ignorant of this , was retired 
into the inner part of the palace : she mounts up to the 
walls , and beholds her dead husband. She swoons at the 
spectacle. Her excess of grief and lamentation. 

The thirtieth day still continues. The scene lies under the 
walls and on the battlements of Troy. 



THE 

ILIAD. 

BOOK XXII. 



Thus to their bulwarks, srnit with panic fear, 
The herded Ilions rush like driven deer ; 
There safe , they wipe the briny drops away, 
And drown in bowls the labours of the day. 
Close to the walls, advancing o'er the fieids 
Beneath one roof of well compacted shields, 
March , bending on, the Greek's embodied powers. 
Far-stretching in the shade of Trojan towers. 
Great Hector singly stay'd ; chain'd down by Fate , 
There fix'd he stood before the Seaman gate , 
Still his bold arms determin'd to employ, 
Tiie guardian still of long-defended Troy. 

Apollo now to tir'd xlchilles turns ; 
The power confest in all his glory burns; 
« And what ( he cries ) has Peleus' son in view . 
With mortal speed a godhead to pursue ? 
For not to thee to know the gods is given, 
Unskill'd to trace the latent marks of heaven. 
What boots thee now , that Troy forsook the plain; 
Vain thy past labour, and thy present vain ! 
Safe in their walls are now her (roops hestow'd, 
While here thy frantic rage attacks a god. >; 

The chief incens'd — « Too partial god of day i 
To check my conquests in the middle way : 
How few in Ilion else had refuge found ! 
What gasping numbers now had bit the ground! 
Thou robb'st me of a glory justly mine , 
Powerful of godhead, and of fraud divine : 
Mean fame, alas! for one of heavenly strain , 
To cheat a mortal who repines in vain. » 

Then to the city terrible and strong, 
With high and haughty steps he tower'd along. 



44° HOMER'S ILIAD. 

So the proud courser , victor of the prize. 

To the near goal with doubled ardour flies. 

Him, as he blazing shot across the field, 

The careful eyes of Priam first beheld. 

]Vot half so dreadful rises to the sight, 

Thro' the thick gloom of some tempestuous night 7 

Orion's dog, the year when Autumn weighs, 

And o'er the feebler stars everts his rays ; 

Terrific glory ! for his burning breath 

Taints the red air with fevers, plagues , and death. 

So flam'd his fiery mail. Then wept the sage; 

Be strikes his reverend head , now white with age : 

He lifts his wither'd arms; obtests the skies; 

He calls his much lov'd son with feeble cries : 

The son, resolv'd Achilles' force to dare, 

Pull at the Scaean gate expects the war : 

While the sad father on the ramparts stands r 

And thus adjures him with extended hands : 

n Ah, stay not! stay not! guardless and alone - v 
Hector! my lov'd, my dearest, bravest son! 
Methinks already I behold thee slain , 
And stretch'd beneath that fury of the plain. 
Implacable Achilles! might'st thou be 
To all th' immortals hateful as to me ! 
Thee , vultures wild should scatter round the shore , 
And bloody dogs grow fiercer from thy gore. 
How many valiant sons I late enjoy'd , 
Valiant in vain! by thy curs'd arm destroy'd : 
Or , worse than slaughter'd , sold in distant isles 
To shameful bondage and unworthy toils. 
Two, while I speak, my eyes in vain explore , 
Two from one mother sprung , my Polydore , 
And lov'd Lycaon ; now perhaps no more ! 
Oh ! if in yonder hostile camp they live , 
What heaps of gold , what treasures would I give I 
Their grandsire's wealth, by right of birth their own, 
Consign'd his daughter with Lelegia's throne. 
But if, which heaven forbid , already lost , 
All pale they wander on the Stygian coast ; 
What sorrows then must their sad mother know,. 
What anguish T ! unutterable vow I 



BOOR XXII. 44 l 

Yet Jess that anguish , less to her , to me , 
Less to all Troy, if not depriv'd of thee. 
Yet shun Achilles ! enter yet the wall; 
And spare thyself, thy father, spare us all! 
Save thy dear life; or, if a soul so brave 
Neglect that thought , thy dearer glory save. 
Pity , while yet I live , these silver hairs ; 
While yet thy father feels the woes he hears , 
Yet curst with sense! a wretch whom in his rage , 
All trembling on. the verge of helpless age, 
Great Jove has plac'd, sad spectacle of pain! 
The bitter dregs of fortune's cup to drain ; 
To fill with scenes of death his closing eyes , 
And number all his days by miseries ! 
My heroes slain , my bridal bed o'ertum'd , 
My daughters ravish'd , and my city burn'd , 
My bleeding infants dash'd against the floor : 
These I have yet to see , perhaps yet more ! 
Perhaps ev'n I, reserv'd by angry fate, 
The last sad relic of my ruin'd state, 
Dire pomp of sovereign wretchedness! must fa!!, 
And stain the pavement of my regal hall ; 
"Where famish'd dogs, late guardians of my door, 
Shall lick their mangled master's spatter'd gore. 
Yet for my sons I thank you , gods ! 'twas weil ; 
Well have they peris'h , for in fight they fell. 
Who dies in youth and vigour , dies the best , 
Struck thro' with wounds , all honest, on the brea^» \ 
But when the Fates , in fullness of their rage, 
Spurn the hoar head of unresisting age , 
In dust the reverend lineaments deform , 
And pour to dogs the life-blood scarcely warm : 
This, this is misery! the last, the worst , 
That man can feel ; man , fated to be curst ! » 

He said ; and , acting what no words could say . 
.Rent from his head the silver locks away : 
With him the mournful mother bears a part ; 
Yet all their sorrows turn not Hector's heart : 
The zone unbrac'd , her bosom she display'd , 
And thus , fast falling the salt tears , she said : 

« Have mercy on me, O my son ! revere 
The words of age; attend a parent's prayer ! 



44- HOMERS ILIAD. 

IF ever thee in these fond arms I prest , 

Or still'd thy infant clamours at this breast ; 

Ah ! do not thus our helpless years forego , 

But, by our walls sccur'd, repel the foe. 

Against his rage if singly thou proceed, 

Should'st thou, but heaven avert it ! should'st thou bleed , 

.Nor must thy corpse lie honoured on the bier , 

JVor spouse , nor mother , grace thee with a tear ; 

Tar from our pious rites , those dear remains 

Must feast the vultures on the naked plains. » 

So they , while down their cheeks the torrents ro 
■But fix'd remains the purpose of his soul : 
Tlesolv'd he stands ; and , with a fiery glance , 
Expects the hero's terrible advance. 
So, roll'd up in his den, the swelling snake, 
r'eholds the traveller approach the brake •, 
When , fed with noxious herbs , his turgid veins 
Have gather'd half the poisons of the plains ; 
He burns, he stiffens with collected ire, 
And his red eye-balls glare with living fire. 
Beneath a turret, on his shield reclin'd, 
He stood , and questioned thus his mighty mind : 

a Vs here lies my way ? To enter in the wall l . 
Honour and shame th' ungenerous thought recall ; 
Shall proud Polydamas before the gate 
Proclaim , his counsels are obey'd too late, 
Which timely foliow'd but the former night, 
What numbers had been sav'd by Hector's flight! 
That wise advice rejected with disdain, 
I feel my folly in my people slain. 
Methinks my suffering country's voice I hear, 
But most, her worthless sons insult my ear; 
On my rash courage charge the chance of war, 
And blame those virtues which they cannot share, 
No — if I e'er return , return I must 
Glorious , my country's terror laid in dust : 
Or, if I perish , let her see me fall 
In field at least, and fighting for her wall. 
And yet , suppose these measures I forego , 
Approach unarm'd , and parley with the foe, 
The warrior-shield , the helm , and lance lay down? 
And treat on terms of peace to save the town % 



BOOK XXII- 443 

The wife withheld , the treasure ill-detaia'd , 
Cause of the war, and grievance of the land , 
With honourable justice to restore; 
And add half Ilion's yet remaining store , 
Which Troy shall , sworn, produce; that injur' d Greece 
May share our wealth, and leave our walis in peace. 
But why this thought ? Unarm'd if I should go ? i 

What hope of mercy from this vengeful foe , > 

But woman- like to fall , and fall without a blow % j 

We greet not here as man conversing man , 
Met at an oak, or journeying o'er a plain ; 
No season now for calm familiar talk, 
Like youths and maidens in an eveniug walk : 
War is our business , but to whom is given 
To die or triumph, that determine heaven! » 

Thus pondering , like a god the Greek drew nigh \ 
His dreadful plumage nodded from on high ; 
The Pelian javelin, in his better hand, 
Shot trembling rays that glitter'd o'er the land; 
And on his breast the beamy splendours shone , 
Like Jove's own lightning , or the rising sun. 
As Hector sees , unusual terrors rise ; 
Struck by some god, he fears, recedes, and flies : 
He leaves the gates, he leaves the walls behind \ 
Achilles follows like the winged wind. 
Thus at the panting dove a falcon flies, 
The swiftest racer of the liquid skies, 
Just when he holds, or thinks he holds his prey, 
Obliquely wheeling thro' th' aerial way ; 
With open beak and shrilling cries he springs, 
And aims his claws , and shoots upon his wings : 
No less fore-right the rapid chase they held , 
One urg'd by fury, one by fear impell'd : 
Now circling round the walls their course maintain , 
Where the high watch-tower overlooks the plain : 
Now where the iig-trees spread their umbrage broad , 
A wider compass , smoke along the road. 
Next by Scamander's double source they bound, 
Where two fam'd fountains burst the parted ground ; 
This hot thro' scorching clefts is seen to rise , 
With exhalations steaming to the skies ; 



4^4 HOMER'S ILIAD- 

That the green banks in summer's heat o'erflow^ 
Like crystal clear, and cold as winter snows. 
Each gushing fount a marble cistern fills, 
Whose polish'd bed receives the falling rills ; 
Where Trojan dames , ere yet alarm'd by Greece, 
Wash'd their fair garments in the days of peace. 
By these they past, one chasing, one in flight; 
The mighty fled, pursu'd by stronger might. 
Swift was the course: no vulgar prize they play, 
IS T o vulgar victim must reward the day : 
( Such as in races crown the speedy strife) 
The prize contended was great Hector's life. 

As when some hero's funerals are decreed, 
Id grateful honour of the mighty deed ; 
Where high rewards the vigourous youth inflame, 
Some golden tripod, or some lovely dame, 
The panting coursers swiftly turn the goal , 
And with them turns the rais'd spectator's soul: 
Thus three times round the Trojan wall they fly ; 
The gazing gods lean forward from the sky ; 
To whom , while eager on the chace they look , 
The sire of mortals and immortals spoke : 

« Unworthy sight ! the man belov'd of heaven , 
Behold , inglorious , round yon city driven ! 
My heart partakes the generous Hector's pain ; 
Hector , whose zeal whole hecatombs has slain. 
Whose grateful fumes the gods receiv'd with joy , 
From Idas' summits , and the towers of Troy : 
.Now see him flying ! to his fears resign'd , 
And Fate , and fierce Achilles , close behind. 
Consult, ye powers ! 'tis worthy your debate, 
Whether to snatch him from impending fate , 
Or let him bear, by stern Pelides slain, 
Good as he is, the lot impos'd on man. » 

Then Pallas thus : « Shall he whose vengeance forms 
The forky bolt, and blackens heaven with storms, 
Shall he prolong one Trojan's forfeit breath! 
A man , a mortal , pre-ordain'd to death ! 
And will no murmurs fill the courts above? 
]N T o gods indignant blame their partial Jove? » 

— « Go then , (return'd the sire) without delay , 
Exert thy will : I giye the Fates their way. » 



BOOK XXII. 44^ 

Swift , at the mandate pleas'd , Tritonia flies , 
And stoops impetuous from the cleaving skies. 

As thro' the forest, o'er the vale and lawn, 
The weil-breath'd beagle drives the flying fawn ; 
In vain he tries the covert of the brakes , 
Or deep beneath the trembling thicket shakes; 
Sure of the vapour in the tainted dews , 
The certain hound his various maze pursues : 
Thus step by step, where'er the Trojan wheePd, 
There swift Achilles compass'd round the field. 
Oft as to reach the Dardan gates he bends , 
And hopes th' assistance of his pitying friends , 
"Whose showering arrows , as he cours'd below , 
From the high turrets might oppress the foe , 
So oft Achilles turns hi in to the plain: 
He eyes the city, but he eyes in vain. 
As men in slumbers seem , with speedy pace , 
One to pursue , and one to lead the chace , 
Their sinking limbs the fancy 'd course forsake . 
Nor this can fly, nor that can overtake : 
No less the labouring heroes pant and strain , 
While that but flies , and this pursues, in vain. 

What god , O muse ! assisted Hector's force , 
"With Fate itself so long to hold the course? 
Phcebus it was ; who , in his latest hour , 
Endu'd his knees with strength , his nerves with power : 
And great Achilles , lest some Greek's advance 
Should snatch the glory from his lifted lance , 
Sign'd to the troops , to yield his foe the way, 
And leave untouched the honours of the day. 

Jove lifts the golden balances , that show 
The fates of mortal men , and things below :] 
Here each contending hero's lot he tries ; 
And weighs , with equal hand , their destinies. 
Low sinks the scale surcharg'd with Hector's fife ; 
Heavy with death it sinks, and hell receives the weight. 

Then Phcebus left him. Fierce Minerva flics 
To stern Pclides, and triumphing cries : 
« Oh lov'd of Jove ! this day our labours cease , 
And conquest blazes with full beams on ©r« 
Great Hector falls*, that Hector, fam'd so far, 
Drunk with renown, insatiable of war, 



446 IIOMER^S ILIAD. 

Falls by thy hand , and mine ! nor force , nor flight 

Shall more avail him, nor his god of light. 

See , where in vain he supplicates above , 

Roli'd at the feet of unrelenting Jove ! 

Rest here : myself will lead the Trojan on, 

And urge to meet the fate he cannot shun. » 

Her voice divine the chief with joyful mind 
Obey'd ; and rested, on his lance reclin'd , 
While, like Deiphobus , the martial dame, 
Her face , her gesture, and her arms the same, 
In show and aid , by hapless Hector's side 
Approach'd , and greets him thus with voice bely'd i 

u Too long, O Hector! have I borne the sight 
Of this distress , and sorrowed in thy flight ; 
It fits us now a noble stand to make, 
And here, as brothers, equal fates partake. » 

Then he : « O prince ! ally'd in blood and fame , 
Dearer than all that own a brother's name; 
Of all that Hecuba to Priam bore, 

Long try'd, long lov'J ; much lov'd , but honour' d more ! 
Since you, of all your numerous race, alone 
Defend my life , regardless of your own. » 

Again the goddess : c< Much my father's prayer, 
And much ray mother's , prest me to forbear : 
My friends embrae'd my kness , adjur'd my stay , 
But stronger love impell'd , and I obey. 
Come then , the glorious conflict let us try, 
Let the steel sparkle , and the javelin fly ; 
Or let us stretch x^chilles on the field, 
Or to his arm our bloody trophies yield. » 

Fraudful she sai<T;lh.en swiftly march'd before', 
The Dardan hero, shuns his foe no more. 
Sternly they meet. The silence Hector broke ', 
His dreadful plumage nodded as he spoke. 

« Enough, O son of Peleus! Troy has view'd 
Her walls thrice circled , and her chief pursu'd. 
But now some god within me bids me try 
Thine , or my fate : I kill thee , or I die. 
Yet on the verge of battle let us stay, 
And for a moment's space suspend the day ; 
Let heaven's high powers be call'd to arbitrate 
The just conditions of this stern debate j 



BOOR XXII. 44? 

Eternal witnesses of all below , 
And faithful guardians of the treasur'd vow ! 
To them I swear; if, victor in the strife, 
Jove by these hands shall shed thyjioble life, 
No vile dishonour shall thy corpse pursue ; 
Stript of its arms alone, the conqueror's due. 
The rest to Greece uninjur'd I'll restore : 
Now plight thy mutual oath , I ask no more. » 

« Talk not of oaths , (the dreadful chief replies, 
While anger flash'd from his disdainful eyes) 
Detested as thou art , and ought to be , 
Nor oath nor pact Achilles plights with thee ; 
Such pacts as lambs and rapid wolves combine, 
Such leagues as men and furious lions join, 
To such I call the gods ! one constant state 
Of lasting rancour and eternal hate : 
No thought but rage and never-ceasing strife, 
Till death extinguish rage , and thought, and life. 
Rouse then thy forces this important hour, 
Collect thy soul , and call forth all thy power. 
No farther subterfuge , no farther chance ; 
'Tis Pallas , Pallas gives thee to my lance. 
Each Grecian ghost, by thee depriv'd of breath, 
Now hovers round, and calls thee to thy death. » 

He spoke, and lancb'd his javelin at the foe; 
But Hector shunn'd the meditated blow : 
He stoop'd , while o'er his head the flying spear 
Sung innocent , and spent its force in air : 
Minerva watch'd it falling on the land , 
Then drew, and gave to great Achilles' hand, 
Unseen of Hector, who, elate with joy, 
Now shakes his lance , and braves the dread of Troy. 

cc The life you boasted to that javelin given , 
Prince! you have miss'd. My fate depends on heaven. 
To thee , presumptuous as thou ait , unknowu 
Or what must prove m}^ fortune , or thy own. 
Boasting is but an art , our fears to blind, 
And with false terrors sink another's mind. 
But know, whatever fate I am to try, 
By no dishonest wound shall Hecior die; 
I shall not fall a fugitive at least ; 
My soul shall bravely issue from my breast. 



44^ HOMER'S ILIAD. 

But first try thou my arm ; and may this dart 

End all my country's woes, deep buried in thy heart! » 
The weapon flew, its course unerring held ; 

Unerring, but the heavenly shield repelPd 

The mortal dart ; resulting with a bound , 

From off the ringing orb , it struck the ground. 

Hector beheld his javelin fall in vain , 

Nor other lance , nor other hope remain; 

He calls Deiphobus, demands a spear, 

In vain , for no Deiphobus was there. 

All comfortless he stands : then , with a sigh , 

« 'Tis so — Heaven wills it , and my hour is nigh ! 

I deem'd Deiphobus had heard my call , 

But he, secure , lies guarded in the wall. 

A god deceiv'd me : Pallas , 'twas thy deed. 

Death, and black Fate, approach! 'tis I must bleed. 

No refuge now, no succour from above , 

Great Jove deserts me , and the son of Jove , 

Propitious once, and kind! Then welcome Fate! 

'Tis true I perish, yet I perish great; 

Yet in a mighty deed I shall expire , 

Let future ages hear it , and admire ! » 

Fierce, at the word, his weighty sword he drew, 

And, all collected, on Achilles flew. 

So Jove's bold bird , high balanc'd in the air, 

Stoops from the clouds to truss the quivering hare ; 

Nor less Achilles his fierce soul prepares ; 

Before his breast the flaming shield he bears, 
Refulgent orb ! above his fourfold cone 
The gilded horse-hair sparkled in the sun, 
Nodding at every step : Vulcanian frame ! 
And , as he mov'd , his figure seem'd on flame. 
As radiant Hesper shines with keener light , 
Far-beaming o'er the silver host of night, 
When all the starry train emblaze the sphere : 
So shone the point of great Achilles' spear. 
In his right hand he waves the weapon round , 
Eyes the whole man , and meditates the wound ; 
But the rich mail Patroclus lately wore , 
Securely cas'd the warrior's body o'er. 
One place at length he spies to let in Fate , 
Where 'twixt the neck and throat the jointed plate 



BOOK XXII. 44^ 

Gave entrance : thro' that penetrable part 
Furious he drove the well-directed dart *. 
Nor pierc'd the wind-pipe yet , nor took the power 
Of speech , unhappy ! from thy dying hour. 
Proue on the field the bleeding warrior lies , 
While thus, triumphing , stern Achilles cries : 

« At last is Hector stretch'd upon the plain , 
Who fear'd no vengeance for Patroclus slain : 
Then , prince ! you should have fear'd what now you feel : 
Achilles absent , was Achilles still ; 
Yet a short space the great avenger stay'd , 
Then low in dust thy strength and glory laid. 
Peaceful he sleeps , with all our rites adorn'd , 
For ever honour'd , and for ever mourn'd ; 
WhiJe, cast to all the rage of hostile power, 
Thee birds shall mangle , and thee dogs devour, m 

Then Hector, fainting at th' approach of death r 
« By thy own soul ! by those who gave thee breaiu I 
By all the sacred prevalence of prayer; 
Ah , leave me not for Grecian dogs to tear 1 
The common rites of sepulture bestow , 
To soothe a father's and a mother's woe; 
Let their large gifts procure an urn at least, 
And Hector's ashes in his country rest. 

« No, wretch accurst ! (relentless he replies : 
Flames , as he spoke, shot flashing from his eyes ) 
Not those who gave me breath should bid me spare , 
Nor all the sacred prevalence of prayer. 
Could I myself the bloody banquet join! 
No — to the dogs that carcase I resign. 
Should Troy, to bribe me , bring forth all her store , 
And , giving thousands , offer thousands more ; 
Should Dardan Priam , and his weeping dame , 
Drain their whole realm to buy one funeral flame, 
Their Hector on the pile they should not see, 
Nor rob the vultures of one limb of thee. » 

Then thus the chief his dying accents drew : 
« Thy rage, implacable! too well I knew, 
The Furies that relentless breast have steePd, 
And curst thee with a heart that cannot yield. 
Yet think , a day will come , when Fate's decree] 
And angry gods , shall wreak this wron;. 



45o HOMERS ILIAD. 

Phoebus and Paris shall avenge my fate , 
And stretch thee here, before this Scrcan gate. » 

He ceas'd. The Fates supprest his labouring breath , 
And his eyes stiffen' d at the hand of Death*, 
To the dark realm the spirit wings its way, 
The manly body left a load of clay, 
And plaintive glides along the dreary coast, 
A naked , wandering , melancholy ghost ! 

Achilles , musing as he roll'd his eyes 
O'er the dead hero, thus, unheard , replies: 
ct Die thou the first ! When Jove and heaven ordain , 
I follow thee u — He said, and stripp'd the slain. 
Then forcing backward from the gaping wound 
The reeking javelin , cast it on the ground; 
The thronging Greeks behold with wondering eyes 
His manly beauty and superior size : 
While some, ignobler, the great Dead deface , 
With wounds ungenerous, or with taunts disgrace ; 
« How chang'd that Hector! who, like Jove of late, 
Sent lightning on our fleets, and scattered fate v » 

High o'er the slain the great \chjJlcs stands, 
Begirt with heroes and surrounding bands; 
And thus aloud, while all the host attends: 
« Princes and leaders! countrymen and friends! 
Since now at length the powerful will of heaven 
The dire destroyer to our arm has given , 
Is not Troy falPn already? Haste, ye powers! 
See, if already their deserted towers 
Are left unmanned : or if they yet retain 
The souls of heroes, their great Hector slain? 
But what is Troy, or glory what to me £ 
Or why reflects my mind on aught but thee, 
Divine Patrochis! Death has seal'd his eyes; 
Unwept , uuhonour'd , uninterr'd he lies ! 
Can his dear image from my soul depart, 
Long as the vital spirit moves my heart ? 
If, in the silent shades of hell below, 
The flames of friends and lovers cease to glow, 
Yet mine shall sacred last ; mine , undecay'd , 
Burn on thro' death , and animate my shade. 
Meanwhile, ye sons of Greece, in triumph bring 
The corpse of Hector, and jour Ps-ans sing. 



BOOK XXII. 4^ x 

Be this the song , slow-moving tow'rd the shore : 
a Hector is dead, and Iiion is no more. » 

Then his fell soul a thought of vengeance hred , 
Unworthy of himself and of the dead. 
The nervous ancles bor'd , his feet he bound 
"With thongs inserted thro' the double wound ; 
These fix'd up high behind the rolling wain, 
His graceful head was trail'd along the plain. 
Proud on his car th' insulting victor stood , 
And bore aloft his arms , distilling blood. 
He smites the steeds; the rapid chariot flies; 
The sudden clouds of circling dust arise. 
Now lost is all that formidable air; 
The face divine , and long-descending hair , 
Purple the ground , and streak the sable sand ; 
Deform'd , dishonor* r'd , in his native land ! 
Giv'n to the rage of an insulting throng ! 
And , in his parent's sight , now dragg'd along ! 

The mother first beheld with sad survey ; j 

She rent her tresses , venerably grey, ; 

And cast, far off, the regal veils away. \ 

With piercing shrieks his bitter fate she moans , 
While the sad father answers groans with groans ; 
Tears after tears his mournful cheeks o'ertlo v, 
And the whole city wears one face of woe : 
JN'o less than if the rage of hostile (ires. 
From her foundations curling to her spires , 
O'er the proud citadel at length should rise , 
And the last blaze send Ilion to the skies. 
The wretched monarch of the falling state , 
Distracted , presses to the Dardan gate. 
Scarce the whole people stop his desperate course , 
While strong affliction gives the feeble force : 
Grief tears his heart, and drives him to and fro , 
In all the raging impotence of woe. 
At length he roll'd in dust , and thus began, 
Imploring all, and naming oue by one : 
« Ah! let me, let me go where sorrow calls; 
I , only I , will issue from your walls : 
Guide or companion , friends ! I ask ye none : 
And bow before the murderer of my son. 



^52. HOMER'S ILIAD, 

My grief perhnps his pity may engage ; 

Perhaps at least he may respect my age. 

He has a father too ; a man like me ; 

One , not exempt from age and misery ; 

Vigorous no more , as when his young embracer 

Begot this pest of me, and all my race. 

How many valiant sons, in early bloom , 

Has that curst hand sent headlong to the tomb? 

Thee, Hector ! last : thy loss , divinely brave! 

Sinks my sad soul with sorrow to the grave. 

Oh ! had thy gentle spirit past in peace , 

The son expiring in the sire's embrace, 

While both thy parents wept thy fatal hour, 

And, bending o'er thee, mix'd thee tender shower! 

Some comfort that had been, some sad relief, 

To melt in full satiety of grief! » 

Thus wail'd the father, groveling on the ground , 

And all the eyes of I!ion stream'd around. 
Amidst her matrons Hecuba appears ; 

A mourning princess , and a train in tears; 

« Ah ! why has heaven prolonged this hated breath ? 

Patient of horrors, to behold thy death? 

Oh Hector! late thy parents' pride and joy, 

The boast of nations! the defence of Troy ! 

To whom her safety and her fame she ow'd ; 

Her chief, her hero, and almost her god! 

O fatal change ! become in one sad day 

A senseless corpse! inanimated clay! » 

But not as yet the fatal news had spread 
To fair Andromache , of Hector dead ; 
As yet no messenger had told his fate , 
Nor ev'n his stay without the Scaean gate% 
Far in the close recesses of the dome, 
Pensive she ply'd the melancholy loom; 
A growing work employ'd her secret hours, 
Confus'dly gay with intermingled flowers. 
Her fair-hair'd handmaids heat the brazen urn , 
The bath preparing for her lord's return : 
In vain : alas ! her lord returns no more ! 
Unbath'd he lies , and bleeds along the shore ! 
Now from the walls the clamours reach her ear, 
And all her members shake with sudden fear \ 



BOOK XXII. /\53 

Forth from her ivory hand the shuttle falls , 
As thus, astonished, to her maids she calls : 

cc Ah, follow me! (she cry'd) what plaintive noise 
Invades my ear? 'Tis sure my mother's voice. 
My faultering knees their trembling frame desert 3 
A pulse unusual flutters at my heart ; 
Some strange disaster, some reverse of fate , 
Ye gods avert it I threats the Trojan state. 
Far be the omen which my thoughts suggest ! 
But much I fear my Rector's dauntless breast 
Confronts Achilles; chas'd along the plain, 
Shut from our walls , I fear, 1 fear him slain ! 
Safe in the crowd he ev.er scorn'd to wait , 
And sought for glory in the jaws of fate : 
Perhaps that noble heat has cost his breath , 
Now quench'd for ever in the arms of death. >* 

She spoke; and furious , with distracted pace , 
Fears in her heart , and anguish in her face , 
Flies thro' the dome; the maids her steps pursue ; 
And mounts the walls, and sends around her view. 
Too soon her eyes the killing object found , 
The godlike Hector dragg'd along the ground. 
A sudden darkness shades her swimming eyes : 
She faints, she falls! her breath, her colour flies. 
Her hair's fair ornaments . the braids that bound , 
The net that held them , and the wreath that crown'd , 
The veil and diadem , flew far away ; 
The gift of Venus on her bridal day. 
Around a (rain of weeping sisters stands , 
To raise her, sinking , with assistant hands. 
Scarce from the verge of death recall'd , agaiw. 
She faints, or but recovers to complain. 

« O wretched husband of a wretched wife ! 
Born with one fate , to one unhappy life ! 
For sure one star its baneful beam display'd 
On Priam's roof and Hippoplacia's shade. 
From different parents, different climes, we came, 
At different periods , yet our fate the same ! 
Why was my birth to great Aetion ow'd, 
And why was all that tender care bestow'd? 
Would I had never been! — O thou , the ghost 
Of my dead husband ! miserably lost ! 



454 HOMEK^S ILIAD. 

Thou to the dismal realms for ever gone ! 

And I abandon'd , desolate , alone ! 

An only child , once comfort of my pains, 

Sad product now of hapless love , remains ! 

No more to smile upon his sire ! no friend 

To help him now ! no father to defend! 

For should he 'scape the sword, the common doom, 

What wrongs attend him , and what griefs to come ! 

Ev'n from his own paternal roof expell'd , 

Some stranger plows his patrimonial field. 

The day, that to the shades the father sends , 

Robs the sad orphan of his father's friends : 

He , wretched outcast of mankind! appears 

For ever sad, for ever bath'd in tears ; 

Amongst the happy, unregarded he 

Hangs on the robe , or trembles at the knee , 

While those his father's former bounty fed, 

Nor reach the goblet, nor divide the bread : 

The kindest but his present wants allay, 

To leave him wretched the succeeding day. 

Frugal compassion! Heedless they who boast 

Both parents still , nor feel what he has lost, 

Shall cry : Begone ! thy father feasts not here ! 

The wretch obeys, retiring with a tear. 

Thus wretched, thus retiring all in tears, 

To my sad soul Astyanax appears ! 

Forc'd by repeated insults to return , 

And to his widow'd mother vainly mourn. 

He , who with tender delicacy bred , 

With princes sported , and on dainties fed , 

And when still evening gave him up to rest, 

Sunk soft in down upon the nurse's breast , 

Must — ah what must he not? Whom Ilion calls 

Astyanax, from her well-guarded walls, 

Is now that name no more , unhappy boy ! 

Since now no more the father guards his Troy. 

But thou, my Hector, ly'st expos'd in air, 

Far from thy parents and thy consort's care, 

Whose hand in vain , directed by her love, 

The martial scarf aud robe of triumph wove. 

Now to devouring flames be these a prey, 

Useless to thee , from this accursed day ! 



BOOK XXII. 455 

Yet let the sacrifice at least be paid, 
An honour to the liviug , not the dead! » 

So spake the mournful dame : her matrons hear, 
^ifei*back her sighs, and answer tear with tear; 



THE ARGUMENT. 

The funeral of Patroclus. 

Achilles and the Myrmidons do honours to the body of Pa- 
troclus. After the funeral feast, he retires to the sea-siioie, 
where, failing asleep, the ghost of his friend appears to him, 
and demands the rites of burial ; the next morning the sol- 
diers are sent with mules and waggons to fetch wood for 
The pyre. The funeral procession, and the offering of their 
hair to the dead. Achilles sacrifices several animals, and 
lastly twelve Trojan captives, at the pile*, then sets fire to 
it. He pays libations to the winds, which, at the instance 
of Iris, rise, and raise the flames. When the pile has burned 
all night , they gather the bones, place them in an urn of 
gold , and raise the tomb. Achilles institutes the funeral 
games : the chariot race , the fight of the cestus, the wrest- 
ling , the foot-race, the single combat, the discus, the 
shooting with arrows, the darting the javelin: the various 
descriptions of which , and the various success of the several 
antagonists, make the greatest part of the book. 

Xu this book ends the thirtieth day. The night following , the 
ghost of Patroclus appears to Achilles : the one and thir • 
ticth day is employed in felling the timber for the pile • 
the two and thirtieth iu burning it : and the three and thir- 
tieth in the games. The spate is generally on the sea-shore. 



THE 

ILIAD. 

BOOK XXIII. 



X hits , humbled in the dust , the pensive train 
Thro' the sad city mourn'd her hero slain. 
The body, soil'd with dust, and Llack with gore, 
Lies on broad Hellespont's resounding shore : 
The Grecians seek their ships , and clear the strand- 
All but the martial Myrmidonian band : 
These yet assembled great Achilles holds, 
And the stern purpose of his mind unfolds: 

« Not yet , my brave companions of the war, 
Release your smoking coursers from the car; 
But, with his chariot each in order led, 
Perform due honours to Patroclus dead. 
Ere yet from rest or food we seek relief, 
Some rites remain , to glut our rage of grief. » 

The troops obey'd ; and thrice in order led , 
Achilles first , their coursers round the dead ; 
And thrice their sorrows and laments renew ; 
Tears bathe their arms, and tears the sands bedew. 
For such a warrior Thetis aids their woe , 
Melts their strong hearts , and bids their eyes to flow. 
But chief, Pelides: thick succeeding sighs 
Burst from his heart , and torrents from his eyes : 
His slaughtering hands , yet re d with blood, he laid 
On his dead friend's cold breast , aud thus he said : 

a All hail , Patroclus! let thy honour'd ghost 
Hear, and rejoice on Pluto's dreary coast; 
Behold! Achilles' promise is complete; 
The bloody Hector stretch'd before thy feet. 
Lo ! to the dogs his carcase I resign ; 
And twelve sad victims of the Trojan line , 
Sacred to vengeance , instant shall expire , 
Their lives eff'us'd around thy funeral pyre. 

20 



HOMERS ILIAL). 

Gloomy he said, and, horrid to the tiew, 

Before the bier the bleeding Hector threw , 

Prone on the dust. The Myrmidons aroupd 

Unbrac'd their armour , and the steeds unbound. 

All to Achilles' sable ship repair, 

Frequent and full , the genial feast to share. 

Now from the well-fed swine black smokes aspire , 

The bristly victims hissing o'er the fire : 

The huge ox bellowing falls; with feebler cries 

Expires t lie goat ; the sheep in silence dies. 

Around the hero's prostrate body llow'd , 

In one promiscuous stream, the reeking blood. 

And now a hand of Argive monarchs brings 

The glorious victor to the Icing of kings. 

From his dead friend the pensive warrior Went, 

Willi steps unwilling, to the regal tent. 

Th' attending heralds, as by office bound, 

With kindled flames the tripod vase surround; 

To cleanse his conquering hands from hostile gore, 

They urg'd in vain; the chief refus'd, and swore: 
wNo drop shall touch me, by almighty Jove! 
The first and greatest of the gods above! 
Till on the pyre I place thee; till I rear 
The grassy mound, and clip thy sacred hair: 
Some ease at least those pious rites may give , 
And soothe my sorrows while I bear to live. 
Howe'er , reluctant as I am , I stay , 
And share your feast; but, with the dawn of day, 
O king of men ! it claims thy royal care , 
That Greece the warrior's funeral pile prepare, 
And bid the forests fall : such rites are paid 
To heroes slumbering in eternal shade : 
Then, when his earthly part shall mount in fire, 
Let the leagu'd squadrons to their posts retire. » 

He spoke ; they hear him , and the word obey , I 

The rage of hunger and of thirst allay, S 

Then ease in sleep the labours of the day. j 

But great Pelides, stretch'd along the shore, 
Where dash'd on rocks the broken billows roar, 
Lies inly groaning ; while on either hand 
The martial Myrmidons confus'dly stand : 



book xx hi. 4^9 

Along the grass his languid members fall, 

Tir'd with his chase around the Trojan wall; 

Hush'd by the murmurs of the rolling deep , 

At length he sinks in the soft arms of sleep. 

When lo ! the shade, before his closing eyes, 

Of sad Patroclus rose, or seem'd to rise: 

In the same robe he living wore , he came ; 

In stature, voice, and pleasing look, the same. 

The form familiar hover'd o'er his head : 

« And sleeps Achilles'? (thus the phantom said) 

Sleeps my Achilles , his Patroclus dead"? 

Living, I seem'd his dearest, tenderest care, 

But now forgot , I wander in the air; 

Let my pale corpse the rites of burial know , 

And give me entrance in the realms below : 

Till then, the spirit finds no resting place, 

But here and there th' unbody'd spectres chace 

The vagrant dead around the dark abode , 

Forbid to cross th' irremeable flood. 

Now give thy hand ; for to the farther shore 

When once we pass, the soul returns no more. 

When once the last funereal flames ascend , 

No more shall meet Achilles and his friend , 

No more our thoughts to those we lov'd make knowa , 

Or quit the dearest , to converse alone. 

Me fate has sever'd from the sons of earth , 

The fate fore-doom'd that waited from my birth ; 

Thee too it waits; before the Trojan wall 

Ev'n great and godlike thou, art doom'd to fail. 

Hear then; and as in fate and love we join , 

Ah suffer that my bones may rest with thine ! 

Together have we liv'd, together bred, 

One house received us , and one table fed : 

That golden urn thy goddess-mother gave , 

May mix our ashes in one common grave. » 

— « And is it thou % ( he answers ) To my sight 
Once more return'st thou from the realms of night! 
Oh more than brother! think each office paid, 
Whate'er can rest a discontented shade : 
But grant one last embrace , unhappy boy ! 
Afford at least that melancholy joy. » 



46o HOMER'S ILIAD. 

He said , and with his longing arms essay'd 
In vain to grasp the visionary shade ; 
Like a thin smoke he sees the spirit fly, 
And hears a feeble , lamentable cry. 
Confus'd he wakes, amazement breaks the bands 
Of golden sleep , and starting from the sands , 
Pensive, he muses with uplifted hands : 

a 'Tis true, 'tis certain; man , tho' dead, retains 
Part of himself; th' immortal mind remains ; 
The form subsists without the body's aid, 
Aerial semblance , and an empty shade ! 
This night my friend , so late in battle lost , 
Stood at my side , a pensive , plaintive ghost ; 
Ev'n now familiar, as in life , he came, 
Alas! how different! yet how like the same! » 

Thus while he spoke, each eye grew big with tears ; 
And now the rosy-tinger'd Morn appears, 
Shews every mournful face with tears o'erspread, 
And glares on the pale visage of the dead. 
But Agamemnon, as the rites demand, 
With mules and waggons sends a chosen band, 
To load the timber, and the pile to rear; 
A charge consigned to Merion's faithful care. 
With proper instruments they take the road, 
Axes to cut , and ropes to sling the load. 
First march the heavy mules , securely slow ; 
O'er hills , o'er dales , o'er crags , o'er rocks they go : 
Jumping , high o'er the shrubs of the rough ground , 
Rattle the clattering cars, and the shock'd axles bound. 
But when arriv'd at Ida's spreading woods , 
Fair Ida , water'd with descending floods , 
Loud sounds the axe, rebounding strokes on strokes; 
On all sides round the forest hurls her oaks 
Headlong. Deep- echoing groan the thickets brown ; 
Then rustling, crackling, crashing, thunder down. 
The wood the Grecians cleave , prepar'd to burn ; 
And the slow mules the same rough road return. 
The sturdy woodmen equal burdens bore , 
Such charge was given them , to the sandy shore ; 
There, on the spot which great Achilles show'd, 
They eas'd their shoulders , and dispos'd the load ; 



BOOK XXIII. 4^ 1 

Circling around the place , where times to come 
Shall view Patroclus' and Achilles' tomb. 
The hero bids his martial troops appear 
High on their cars , in all the pomp of war ; 
Each in refulgent arms his limbs attires , 
All mount their chariots , combatants and 'squires. 
The chariots first proceed , a shining train ; 
Then clouds of foot that smoke along the plain ; 
Next these a melancholy band appear , 
Amidst , lay dead Patroclus on the bier. 
O'er all the corpse their scattered locks they throw . 
Achilles next , opprest with mighty woe , 
Supporting with his hands the hero's head , 
Bends o'er th' extended body of the dead. 
Patroclus decent on th' appointed ground 
They place , and heap the sylvan pile around. 
But great Achilles stands apart in prayer , 
And from his head divides the yellow hair ; 
Those curling locks which from his youth he vowM, 
And sacred grew to Sperchius' honour'd flood : 
Then, sighing, to the deep his looks he cast, 
And roli'd his eyes around the watery waste : 

« Sperchius! whose waves , in mazy errors lost , 
Delightful roll along my native coast ! 
To whom we vainly vow'd, at our return, 
These locks to fall, and hecatombs to burn : 
Full fifty rams to bleed in sacrifice , 
Where to the day thy silver fountains rise , 
And where in shade of consecrated bowers 
Thy altars stand , perfum'd with native flowers ! 
So vow'd my father, but he vow'd in vain; 
IVo more Achilles sees his native plain; 
In that vain hope these hairs no longer grow, 
Patroclus bears them to the shades below. » 

Thus o'er Patroclus while the hero pray'd , 
On his cold hand the sacred lock he laid , 
Once more afresh the Grecian sorrows flow : 
And now the sun had set upon their woe ; 
But to the king of men thus spoke the chief : 
« Enough , Atrides ! give the troops relief : 
Permit the mourning legions to retire , 
And let the chiefs alone attend the pyre £, 



4^2 HOMEI^S ILIAD. 

The pious care be ours the dead to bum — 
He said : the people to their ships return j 
While those deputed to inter the slain 
Heap with a rising pyramid the plain. 
A hundred foot in length, a hundred wide, 
The growing structure spreads on every side : 
High on the top the manly corpse they lay, 
• And well-fed sheep , and sable oxen slay: 
Achilles cover'd with tlieir fat the dead, 
And the pil'd victims round the body spread. 
Then jars of honey and of fragrant oil 
Suspends around, low-bending o'er the pile. 
Four sprightly coursers, with a deadly gioan 
Pour forth their lives, and on the pyre are thrown. 
Of nine large dogs, domestic at his hoard, 
Fall two , selected to attend their lord. 
Then last of all , and horrible to tell*. 
Sad sacrifice ! twelve Trojan captives fell. 
On these the rage of fire victorious preys, 
Involves and joins them in one common blaze. 
Smear'd with the bloody rites he stands on high , 
And calls the spirit with a dreadful cry : 

n All hail , Palroclus! let thy vengeful ghost 
Hear, and exult , on Pluto's dreaiy coast. 
Behold, Achilles' promise fidly paid , 
Twelve Trojan heroes offer'd to thy shade •, 
JBut heavier fates on Hector's corpse attend, 
Sav'd from the flames for hungry dogs to rend. » 

So spake he, threatening ; but the gods made vain 
His threat , and guard inviolate the slain : 
Celestial Venus hover'd o'er his head, 
And roseate unguents , heavenly fragrance ! shed : 
She watch'd him all the night, and all the day, 
And drove the blood-hounds from their destin'd prey. 
If or sacred Phoebus less employ'd his care ; 
He pour'd around a veil of gather'd air, 
And kept the nerves undry'd , the flesh entire , 
Against the solar beam and Sirian fire. 

Nor yet the pile where dead Patroclus lies, 
Smokes , nor as yet the sullen flames arise ; 
But fast beside, Achilles stood in prayer, 
Invok'd the gods, whose spirit moves the air, 



book xxiii. 463 

And victims promis'd , and libations cast , 

To gentle Zephyr and the Boreal blast : 

He call'd th' aerial powers , along the skies 

To breathe and whisper to the fires to vise. 

The winged Iris heard the hero's call , 

And instant hastened to their airy hall, 

Where , in old Zephyr's open courts on high , 

Sat all the blustering brethren of the sky. 

She shone amidst them on her painted bow ; 

The rocky pavement glitter'd with the show. 

All from the banquet rise, and each invites 

The various goddess to partake the rites. 
« Not so (the dame reply'd); I haste to go 

To sacred Ocean , and the floods below : 

Ev'n now our solemn hecatombs attend, 

And heaven is feasting on the world's green end , 
With righteous iEthiops , uncorrupted train! 

Far on th' extremest limits of the main. 
But Peleus' son intreats , with sacrifice , 
The Western Spirit, and the North , to rise ; 
Let on Patroclns' pile your blast be driven, 
And bear the blazing honours high to heaven. » 

Swift as the word she vanish'd from their view ; 
Swift as the word the winds tumultuous Hew; 

Forth burst the stormy band with thundering roar. 

And heaps on heaps the clouds are tost before. 

To the wide main then stooping from the skies, 

The heaving deeps in watery mountains rise. 

Troy feels the blast along her shaking walls, 

Till on the pile the gather'd tempest falls. 

The structure crackles in the roaring fires, 

And all the night, the plenteous flame aspires. 

All night Achilles hails Patroclus' soul, 

With large libations from the golden bowl. 

As a poor father, helpless and undone , 

Mourns o'er the ashes of an only son, 

Takes a sad pleasure the last bones to burn , 

And pours in tears , ere yet they close the urn : 

So stay'd Achilles , circling round the shore , 

So watch'd the flames, till now they flame no more. 

'Twas when , emerging thro' the shades of ni^ht, 

The morning planet told th' approach of light ; 



464 HOMER'S ILIAIK 

And fast behind , Aurora's warmer ray 
O'er the broad ocean pour'd the golden day ; 
Then sunk the blaze , the pile no longer buru'd f 
And to their caves the whistling winds returu'd : 
Across the Thracian seas their course they bore-, 
The ruffled seas beneath their passage roar. 
Then parting from the pile he ceas'd to weep, 
And sunk to quiet in th' embrace of sleep , 
Exhausted with his grief: meanwhile the crowd 
Of thronging Grecians round Achilles stood; 
The tumult wak'd him : from his ejes he shook 
Unwilling slumber, and the chiefs bespoke : 

« Ye kings and princes of th' Achaian name! 
First let us quench the yet remaining flame 
"With sable wine; then, as the rites direct, 
The hero's bones with careful view select : 
Apart, and easy to be known, they lie, 
Amidst the heap, and obvious to the eye i 
The rest around the margins will be seen 
Promiscuous, steeds and immolated men : 
These , wrapt in double cawls of fat, prepare, 
And in the golden vase dispose with care*, 
There let them rest , with decent honour laid, 
Till I shall follow to th' infernal shade. 
Meantime erect the tomb with pious hands, 
A common structure on the humble sands; 
Hereafter Greece some nobler work may raise, 
And late posterity record our praise. » 

The Greeks obey ; where yet the embers glow, 
Wide o'er the pile the sable wine they throw, 
And deep subsides the ashy heap below. 
Next the white bones his sad companions place, 
With tears collected , in the golden vase. 
The sacred relics to the tent they bore ; 
The urn a veil of linen cover'd o'er. 
That done , they bid the sepulchre aspire , 
And cast the deep foundations round the pyre ; 
High in the midst they heap the swelling bed 
Of rising earth, memorial of the dead. 

The swarming populace the chief detains r 
And leads amidst a wide extent of plains ; 



book xxiii. A65 

There plac'd them round : then from the ships proceeds 

A train of oxen , mules , and stately steeds , 

Vases and tripods, for the funeral games, 

Resplendent brass , and more resplendent dames. 

First stood the prizes to reward the force 

Of rapid racers in the dusty course : 

A woman for the first , in beauty's bloom , 

Skill'd in the needle , and the labouring loom ; 

And a large vase , where two bright handles rise , 

Of twenty measures its capacious size. 

The second victor claims a mare unbroke, 

Big with a mule , unknowing of the yoke ; 

The third, a charger yet untouch'd by flame •, 

Four ample measures held the shining frame *, 

Two golden talents for the fourth were plac'd ; 

An ample double bowl contents the last. 

These in fair order rang'd upon the plain, 

The hero, rising, thus addrest the train : 

« Behold the prizes , valiant Greeks ! decreed 
To the brave rulers of the racing steed*, 
Prizes which none beside ourself could gain , 
Should our immortal coursers take the plain : 
A race unrivall'd , which from ocean's god 
Peleus receiv'd, and on his son bestow'd. 
But this no time our vigour to display, 
IVor suit, with them , the games of this sad day : 
Lost is Patroclus now, that wont to deck 
Their flowing manes, and sleek their glossy neck. 
Sad, as they shar'd in human grief, they stand, 
And trail those graceful honours on the sand ; 
Let others for the noble task prepare , 
Who trust the courser and the flying car. » 

Fir'd at his word , the rival racers rise ; 
But far the first , Eumelus hopes the prize, 
Fam'd thro' Pieria for the fleetest breed , 
And skill'd to manage the high-bounding steed. 
With equal ardour bold Tydides sweii'd , 
The steeds of Tros beneath his yoke compell'd , 
Which late obey'd the Dardan chief's command . 
When scarce a god redeem'd him from his hand. 
Then Menelaus his Podargus brings , 
And the fam'd courser of the king of kiugs ; 



466 homer's ILIAD. 

Whom rich Echcpolus , more rich than brave, 
To 'scape the wars , to Agamemnon gave , 
(iEthe her name) at home to end his days , 
Base wealth preferring to eternal praise. 
Next him Antilochus demands the course , 
With heating heart , and cheers his Pylian horse. 
Experienc'd Nestor gives his son the reins, 
Directs his judgment, and his heat restrains ; 
Nor idly warns the hoary sire , nor hears 
The prudent son with unattending ears. 

cc My son ! tho' youthful ardour fire thy breast , 
The gods have lov'd thee, and with arts have blest. 
Neptune and Jove on thee conferred the skill, 
Swift round the goal to turn the Hying wheel. 
To guide thy conduct , little precept needs ; 
fhit slow T , and past their vigour, are my steeds. 
Fear not thy rivals , tho' for swiftness known ; 
Compare those rivals' judgment and thy own. 
It is not strength , but art, obtains the prize , 
And to be swift is less than to be wise. 
'Tis more by art, than force of numerous strokes , 
The dexterous woodman shapes the stubborn oaks; 
By art the pilot, thro' the boiling deep, 
And howling tempest , steers the fearless ship ; 
And 'tis the artist wins the glorious course , 
Not those who trust hi chariots and in horse. 
In vain , unskilful , to the goal they strive , 
And short , or wide , th' ungovern'd courser drive : 
While with sure skill, tho' with inferior steeds, 
The knowing racer to his end proceeds ; 
Fix'd on the goal his eye fore runs the course , 
His hand unerring steers the steady horse , 
And now contracts, or now extends the rein, 
Observing still the foremost on the plain. 
Mark then the goal , 'tis easy to be found ; 
Yon aged trunk , a cubit from the ground ; 
Of some once stately oak the last remains , 
Or hardy fir, unperish'd with the rains ; 
Inclos'd with stones , conspicuous from afar, 
And round, a circle for the wheeling car : 
Some tomb perhaps of old, the dead to grace ; 
Or then, as now ? the limit of a race. 



BOOK XXIII. &6j 

Bear close to this , and warily proceed , 
A little bending to the left- hand steed ; 
But urge the right , and give him all the reins : 
While thy strict hand his fellow's head restrains , 
And turns him short ; till , doubling as they roll , 
The wheel's round naves appear to brush the goal. 
Yet , not to break the car, or lame the horse , 
Clear of the stony heap direct the course ; 
Lest, thro' incaution failing, thou may'st be 
A joy to others, a reproach to me. 
So shalt thou pass the goal , secure of mind , 
And leave unskilful swiftness far behind ; 
Tho' thy fierce rival drove the matchless steed 
Which bore Adrastus, of celestial breed ; 
Or the farn'd race , thro' all the regions known , 
That whirl'd the car of proud Laomedon. » 

Thus, nought, unsaid, the much-advising sage 
Concludes ; then sat , stiff with unwieldy age. 
Next bold Meriones was seen to rise j 
The last, but not least ardent fcr the prize. 
They mount their seats •, the lots their place dispose ; 
Roll'd in his helmet , these Achilles throws. 
Young Nestor leads the race : Eumelus then ; 
And next , the brother of the king of men : 
Thy lot , Meriones , the fourth was cast ; 
And far the bravest, Diomed , was last. 
They stand in order, an impatient train ; 
Peiides points the barrier on the plain , 
And sends before old Phoenix to the place , 
To mark the racers , and to judge the race. 
At once the coursers from the harrier bound ; 
The lifted scourges all at once resound ; 
Their heart, their eyes, their voice, they send before ; 
And up the champaign thunder from the shore : 
Thick , where Ihey drive , the dusty clouds arise ? 
And the lost courser in the whirlwind flies ; 
Loose on their shoulders the long manes reclin'd , 
Float in their speed , and dance upon the wind : 
The smoking chariots, rapid as they bound , 
Now seem to touch the sky, and now the ground. 
While, hot for fame , and conquest all their care . 
Each o'er his fhing courser hung m air, 



468 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

Erect with ardour, pois'd upon the reiu , 
They pant , they stretch , they shout along the plain. 
]Vow, the last compass fetch'd around the goal , 
At the near prize each gathers all his soul ; 
Each burns with double hope , with double pain , 
Tears up the shore , and thunders tow'rd the mains 
First ilew Eumelus on Pheretian steeds ; 
With those of Xros bold Diomed succeeds : 
Close on Eumelus' back they puff the wind , 
And seem just mounting on his car behind ; 
Full on his neck he feels the sultry breeze , 
And , hoveriug o'er, their stretching shadow sees.. 
Then had he lost, or left a doubtful prize, 
But angry Phoebus to Tydides flies , 
Strikes from his hand the scourge , and renders vain 
His matchless horses' labour on the plain. 
Rage fills his eye with anguish, to survey 
Suatch'd from his hope the glories of the day. 
The fraud celestial Pallas sees with pain , 
Springs to her knight, and gives the scourge again, 
And tills his steeds with vigour. At a stroke, 
She breaks his rival's chariot from the yoke ; 
IVo more their way the startled horses held ; 
The car revers'd came rattling on the field ; 
Shot headlong from his seat , beside the wheel , 
Prone en the dust th' unhappy master fell *, 
His balter'd face and elbows strike the ground; 
IS T o^e, mouth , and front, one undistinguished wound \ 
Grief stops his voice , a torrent drowns his eyes ; 
Before him far the glad Tydides flies *, 
Minerva's spirit drives his matchless pace , 
And* crown's him victor of the labour'd race. 
The next , tho' distant , Menelaus succeeds ; 
While thus young Nestor animates his steeds : 
c< Now, now, my generous pair, exert your force ; 
Not that we hope to match Tydides' horse , 
Since great Minerva wings their rapid way, 
And gives their lord the honours of the day. 
But reach Atrides ! shall his mare out-go 
Your swiftness , vanquish'd by a female foe ? 
Thro' your neglect , if lagging on the plain , 
The last ignoble gift be. all we gain ; 



BOOK XXIII. 4% 

No more shall Nestor's hand your food supply. 
The old man's fury rises , and ye die : 
Haste then ; yon narrow road before our sight 
Presents th' occasion , could we use it right. » 

Thus he. The coursers at their master's threat 
With quicker steps the sounding champaign beat. 
And now Antilochus with nice survey 
Observes the compass of the hollow way. 
'Twas where by force of wintry torrents torn, 
Fast by the road a precipice was worn : 
Here , where but one could pass, to shun the throng , 
The Spartan hero's chariot smok'd along. 
Close up the venturous youth resolves to keep , 
StiJl edging near, and bears him tow'rd the steep. 
Atrides , trembling , casts his eyes below, 
And wonders at the rashness of his foe. 
« Hold , stay your steeds — What madness thus to ride 
This narrow way ! take larger field ( he cry'd ) , 
Or both must fall. » — Atrides cry'd in vain ; 
He flies more fast , and throws up all the rein. 
Far as an able arm the disk can send , 
When youthful rivals their full force extend , 
So far, Antilochus ! thy chariot flew 
Before the king : he , cautious , backward drew 
His horse compell'd ; foreboding in his fears 
The rattling ruin of the clashing cars , 
The floundering coursers rolling on the plain , 
And conquest lost thro' frantic haste to gain ; 
But thus upbraids his rival as he flies : 
« Go , furious youth ! ungenerous and unwise 1 
Go , but expect not I'll the prize resign : — 
Add perjury to fraud , and make it thine. » 
Then to his steeds with all his force he cries : 
« Be swift , be vigorous , and regain the prize ! 
Your rivals , destitute of youthful force , 
With fainting knees shall labour in the course , 
And yield the glory yours. » — The steeds obey ; ; 

Already at their heels they wing their way, 
And seem already to retrieve the day. \ 

Meantime the Grecians in a ring beheld 
The coursers bounding o'er the dusty field , 



4y° HOMKk's ILIAD. 

The first who mark'd thein was the Cretan king ; 

High on a rising ground , above the ring , 

r l he monarch sat : from whence with sure survey 

He well observed the chief who led the way, 

And heard from far his animating cries , 

And saw the foremost steed with sharpen'd eyes; 

On whose broad front a blaze of shining white , 

Like the full moon , stood obvious to the sight. 

He saw ; and rising , to the Greeks begun : 

« Are yonder horse discern'd by me alone? 

Or ran ye , all , another chief survey, 

And other steeds , than lately led the way? 

Those , tho' the swiftest , by some god withheld , 

Lie sure disabled in the middle field : 

For. since the goal they doubled, round the plain 

I search lo {\nd them, but I search in vain. 

Perchance the reins forsook the driver's baud, 

And, turn'd too short , be tumbled on the strand , 

Shot from the chariot; 'while his coursers stray 

With frantic fury from the destm'd way. 

Rise then some other, and inform my sight, 

For these dim eyes, perhaps , discern not right ; 

Yet sure he seems , to judge by shape and air, 

The great /LtoJian chief, renown'd in war. » 

« Old man! ( Oileus rashly thus replies) 
Thy tongue too hastily confers the prize; 
Of those who view the course , not sharpest ey'd , 
Nor youngest, yet the readiest to decide. 
Eumelus' steeds, high-bounding in the chace , 
Stiil, as at first, unrivali'd lead the race : 
I well discern him as he shakes the rein, 
And hear his shouts victorious o'er the plain. » 

Thus he. ldomeneus, incens'd, rejoin'd : 
cc Barbarous of words ! and arrogant of mind! 
Contentious prince! of all the Greeks beside 
The last in merit , as the first in pride : 
To vile reproach what answer can we make ? 
A goblet or a tripod let us stake , 
And be the king the judge. The most Unwise 
Will learn their rashness , when they pay the price. » 

He said ; and Ajax , by mad passion borne , 
Stern had reply'd ; fierce scorn enhancing scorn 



BOOR XXIII. 4/ 1 

To fell extremes •, but Thetis' godlike son 
Awful amidst them rose , and thus begun • 

a Forbear, ye chiefs ! reproachful to contend •, / 

Much would ye blame , should others thus offend : r 

And lo ! th' approaching steeds your contest end, » ) 

No sooner had he spoke, but , thundering near, 
Drives thro' a stream of dust the charioteer : 
High o'er his head the circling lash he wields ; 
His bounding horses scarcely touch the fields ; 
His car amidst the dusty whirlwind roll'd , 
Bright with the mingled blaze of tin and gold, 
Refulgent thro' the cloud : no eye could find 
The track his flying wheels had left behind : 
And the fierce coursers urg'd their rapid pace 
So swift, it seem'd a flight , and not a race. 
Now victor at the goal Tydides stands , 
Quits his bright car, and springs upon the sands ; 
From the hot steeds the sweaty torrents stream : 
The weli-piy'd whip is hung athwart the beam : 
With joy brave Sthenelus receives the prize, 
The tripod vase , and dame with radiant eyes : 
These to the ships his train triumphant leads , 
The chief himself unyokes the panting steeds. 

Young Nestor follows , (who by art , not force , 
O'erpast Atrides) second in the course. 
Behind , Atrides urg'd the race, more near 
Than to the courser in his swift career 
The following car, just touching with his heel, 
And brushing with his tail the whirling wheel : 
Such and so narrow now the space between 
The rivals , late so distant on the green ; 
So soon swift ALthe her lost ground regain'd , 
One length, one moment , had the race obtain'd. 

Merion pursu'd at greater distance still , 
With tardier coursers and inferior skill. 
Last came Admetus ! thy unhappy son : ) 

Slow dragg'd the steeds his batter'd chariot on : > 

Achilles saw, and pitying thus begun : J 

« Behold! the man whose matchless art surpost 
The sons of Greece ! the ablest , yet the last ! 
Fortune denies, but justice bids us pay, j 

Since great Tydides bears the first away , r 

To him the second honours of the day. » ) 



47 2 homer's ILIAD. 

The Greeks consent with loud applauding cries , 
And then Eumelus had receiv'd the prize, 
But youthful Nestor, jealous of his fame , 
Th' award opposes, and asserts his claim : 
« Think not ( he cries ) I tamely will resign , 
O Peleus' son ! the mare so justly mine. 
What if the gods , the skilful to confound , 
Have thrown the horse and horseman to the ground ? 
Perhaps he sought not heaven by sacrifice, 
And vows omitted forfeited the prize. 
If yet , distinction to thy friend to show , 
And please a soul desirous to bestow, 
Some gift must grace Eumelus ; view thy store 
Of beauteous handmaids, steeds, and shining ore ; 
An ample present let him thence receive , 
And Greece shall praise thy generous thirst to give. 
But this , my prize , I never shall forego ; 
This, who but touches , warriors ! is my foe. » 

Thus spake the youth •, nor did his words offend : 
Pleas'd with the well-turn'd flattery of a friend, 
Achilles smil'd : « The gift propos'd , ( he cry'd ) 
Antilochus ! we shall ourself provide. 
"With plates of brass the corselet covered o'er, 
The same renown'd Asteropaeus wore , 
Whose glittering margins rais'd with silver shine, 
JNo vulgar gift, Eumelus, shall be thine. » 

He said : Automedon at his command 
The corselet brought, and gave it to his hand. 
Distinguish'd by his friend , his bosom glows 
With generous joy : then Menelaus rose ; 
The herald \. lac'd the sceptre in his hands , 
And still'd the clamour of the shouting bands. 
Not without cause incens'd at Nestor's son , 
And , inly grieving, thus the king begun : 

«The praise of wisdom, in thy youth obtained, 
An act so rash , Antilochus , has stain'd. 
Robb'd of my glory and my just reward , 
To you , O Grecians ! be my wrong declar'd : 
So not a leader shall our conduct blame , 
Or judge me envious of a rival's fame; 
But shall not we , ourselves , the truth maintain ? 
What needs appealing in a fact so plain £ 



BOOK XXITI. 47^ 

What Greek shall blame me , if I hid thee rise 
And vindicate by oath th' ill-gotten prize? 
Rise, if thou dar'st , before thy chariot stand, 
The driving scourge high-lifted in thy hand , 
And touch thy steeds , and swear thy whole intent 
Was hut to conquer, not to circumvent. 
Swear by that god whose liquid arms surround 
The globe, and whose dread earthquakes heave the ground. » 

The prudent chief with calm attention heard ; 
Then mildly thus : « Excuse , if youth have err'd i 
Superior as thou art , forgive th' offence , 
Nor I thy equal, or in years or sense. 
Thou know'st the errors of unripen'd age , 
Weak are its counsels, headlong is its rage. 
The prize I quit, if thou thy wrath resign ; 
The mare , or aught thou ask'st , be freely thine r 
Ere I become , from thy dear friendship torn , 
Hateful to thee , and to the gods forsworn. » 

So spoke Antilochus ; and at the word 
The mare contested to the king restor'd. 
Joy swells his soul : as when the vernal grain 
Lifts the green ear above the springing plain ? 
The fields their vegetable life renew, 
And laugh and glitter with the morning dew ' r 
Such joy the Spartan's shining face o'erspread, 
And lifted his gay heart , while thus he said : 

« Still may our souls , O generous youth ! agree > 
'Tis now Atrides' turn to yield to thee. 
Bash heat perhaps a moment might controul , 
Not break , the settled temper of thy soul. 
Not but , my friend , 'tis still the wiser way 
To wave contention with superior sway; 
For ah ! how few , who should like thee offend , 
Like thee have talents to regain the friend ! 
To plead indulgence, and thy fault atone, 
Suffice thy father's merit and thy own : 
Generous , alike , for me , the sire and son 
Have greatly suffer'd, and have greatly done. 
I yield ; that all may know my soul can bend , 
Nor is my pride preferr'd before my friend. » 



474 HOMERS ILIAD. 

He said; and , pleas'd his passion to command , 
Resign'd the courser to Noemon's band, 
Friend of the youthful chief •, himself content , 
The shining charger to his vessel sent. 
The golden talents Merion next ohtain'd ; 
The fifth reward, the douhle howl, remain'd. 
Achilles this to reverend Nestor bears, 
And thus the purpose of his pift declares : 

« Accept thou this , () sacred sire ! ( he said ) 
In dear memorial of Patroclus dead ; 
Dead , and for ever lost , Patroclus lies, 
For ever snatch'd from our desiring eyes ! 
Take thou this token of a grateful heart , 
Tho' 'tis not thine to hurl the distant dart, 
Tlie quoit to toss , the ponderous mace to yield , 
Or urge the race , or wrestle on the field. 
Thy present vigour age has overthrown , 
But left Ihe glory of the past thy own. » 

He said, and plac'd the goblet at his side. 
With joy the venerable king reply'd : 

« Wisely and well, my son , thy words have prov'd 
A senior honour'd , and a friend belov'd ! 
Too true it is, deserted of my strength , 
These wither'd arms and limbs have fail'd at length. 
Oh ! had I now that force I felt of yore , 
Known thro' Buprasium and the Pylian shore ! 
Victorious then in every solemn game , 
Ordain'd to Amarynces' mighty name; 
The brave Epeians gave my glory way, 
TEtolians, Pylians, all resign'd the day. 
I quell'd Clytomedes in fights of hand , 
And backward hurl'd Ancaeus on the sand , 
Surpast Iphyclus in the swift career, 
Phyleus and Polydorus , with the spear. 
The sons of Actor won the prize of horse , 
But won by numbers , not by art or force : 
For the fam'd twins , impatient to survey 
Prize after prize by Nestor borne away, 
Sprung to their car ; and with united pains 
One lash'd the coursers , while one rul'd the reins. 
Such once I was ! Now to these tasks succeed* 
j\ younger race , that emulate our deeds : 



BOOK XXIII. /\.j5 

I yield , alas ! to age who must not yield ? 
Tho' once the foremost hero of the field. 
Go thou , my son ! by generous friendship led , 
With martiai honours decorate the dead ; 
While pleas'd I take the gift thy hands present, 
Pledge of henevolence, and kind intent; 
Rejoic'd, of all the numerous Greeks, to see 
Not one but honours sacred age and me : 
Those due distinctions thou so well can'st pay, 
May the just gods return another day. » 

Proud of the gift, thus spake the full of days : 
Achilles heard him , prouder of the praise. 

The prizes next are order'd to the field, 
For the bold champions who the cestus wield. 
A stately mule , as yet by toils unbroke , 
Of six years age , unconscious of the yoke , 
Is to the circus led , and firmly bound; 
Next stands a goblet , massy, large and round. 
Achilles, rising, thus : « Let Greece excite 
Two heroes equal to this hardy fight : 
Who dare the foe with lifted arms provoke, 
And rush beneath the lo-2g-d esc ending stroke , 
On whom Apollo shall the palm bestow, 
And whom the Greeks supreme by conquest know. 
This mule his dauntless labour shall repay ; 
The vanquish'd bear the massy bowl away. » 

This dreadful combat great Epeus chose ; 
High o'er the crow'd , enormous bulk ! he rose, 
And seiz'd the beast , and thus began to say : 
« Stand forth some man , to bear the bowl away ! 
Prize of his ruin ; for who dares deny 
This mule my right * th' undoubted victor I ? 
Others, 'tis own'd , in fields of battle shine, 
But the first honours of this fight are mine ; 
For who excels in all? Then let my foe 
Di aw T near, but first his certain fortune know ; 
Secure , this hand shall his whole frame confound, 
Mash all his bones , and all his body pound : 
So let his friends be nigh , a needful train , 
To heave the batter'd carcase off the plain. » 

The giant spoke ; and in a stupid gaze 
The host beheld him , silent with amaze ! 



47^ HOMERS I LI Aft, 

'Twas thou , Euryalus ! who durst aspire 
To meet his might , and emulate thy sire , 
The great Mecistheus, who in days of yore, 
In Theban games the noblest trophy bore \ 
The games ordain'd dead Oedipus to grace *, 
And singly vanquished the Cadmean race. 
Him great Tydides urges to contend, 
Warm with the hopes of conquest for his friend *, 
Officious with the cincture girds him round , 
And to his wrist the gloves of death are bound. 
Amid the circle now each champion stands , 
And poises high in air his iron hands. 
With clashing gauntlets now they fiercely close, ) 

Their crackling jaws re-echo to the blows , > 

And painful sweat from all their members flows. j 

At length Epeus dealt a weighty blow , 
Full on the cheek of his unwary foe ; 
Beneath that ponderous arm's resistless sway 
Down dropthe, nerveless, and extended lay. 
As a large fish , when winds and waters roar, 
By some huge billow dash'd against the shore , 
Lies panting : not less battered with his wound , 
The bleeding hero pants upon the ground. 
To rear his fallen foe , the victor lends , 
Scornful , his hand *, and gives him to his friends ', 
Whose arms support him , reeling thro' the throng ■, 
And dragging his disabled legs along ; 
Nodding , his head hangs down his shoulder o'er ; 
His mouth and nostrils pour the clotted gore ; 
Wrapt round in mist he lies , and lost to thought •, 
His friends receive the bowl , too dearly bought. 
The third bold game Achilles next demands , 
And calls the wrestlers to the level sands : 
A massy tripod for the victor lies, 
Of twice six oxen its reputed price; 
And next , the loser's spirits to restore , 
A female captive valu'd but at four. 
Scarce did the chief the vigorous strife propose , 
W T hen tower-like Ajax and Ulysses rose. 
Amid the ring each nervous rival stands , 
Embracing rigid with implicit hands : 



BOOK XXIII. 477 

Close-lock'd above , their heads and arms are mixt ; 
Below , their planted feet at distance fixt : 
Like two strong rafters which the builder forms , 
Proof to the wintry wind and howling storms , 
Their tops connected , but at wider space 
Fixt on the centre stands their solid base. 
Now to the grasp each manly body bends ; 
The humid sweat from every pore descends ; 
Their bones resound with blows : sides , shoulders, thighs, 
Swell to each gripe , and bloody tumours rise. 
Nor could Ulysses , for his art renown'd , 
O'erturnthe strength of Ajax on the ground; 
Nor could the strength of Ajax overthrow 
The watchful caution of his artful foe. 
While the long strife ev'n tir'd the lookers-on 7 
Thus to Ulysses spoke great Telamon: 
« Or let me lift thee , chief, or lift thou me : 
Prove we our force , and Jove the rest decree. » 

He said ; and straining , heav'd him off the ground 
With matchless strength ; that time Ulysses found 
The strength t'evade , and where the nerves combine 
His ankle struck : the giant fell supine ; 
Ulysses following , on his bosom lies; 
Shouts of applause run rattling thro' the skies. 
Ajax to lift, Ulysses next essays, 
He barely stirr'd him , but he could not raise : 
His knee lock'd fast , the foe's attempt deny'd ; 
And grappling close , they tumbled side by side. 
DefrTd with honourable dust , they roll , 
Still breathing strife , and unsubdu'd of soul : 
Again they rage , again to combat rise ; 
W hen great Achilles thus divides the prize : 

« Your noble vigour , oh my friends , restrain ; 
Nor weary out your generous strength in vain. 
Ye both have won; let others who excel , 
Now prove that prowess you have prov'd so well. » 

The hero's words the willing chiefs obey , } 

From their tir'd bodies wipe the dust away , ' 

And , cloth'd anew , the following games survey, I 

And now succeed the gifts , ordain'd to grace 
The youths contending in the rapid race. 



4y8 homer's ILIAD. 

A silver urn that full six measures held, 

By none in weight or workmanship exce 11M : 

Sidonian artists taught the frame to shine , 

Elaborate, with artifice divine: 

Whence Tynan sailors did the prize transport, 

And gave to Thoas at the Lemnian port : 

From him descended , good Eunaeus heir'd 

The glorious gift ; and, for Lycaon spar'd , 

To brave Palroclus gave the rich reward. 

Now, the same hero's funeral rites to grace , 

It stands the prize of swiftness in the race. 

A well-fed ox was for the second plac'd ; 

And half a talent must content the last. 

Achilles , rising , then bespoke the train : 

« \\ ho hope the palm of swiftness to obtain , 

Stand forth, and bear these prizes from the plain. » 

The hero said; and, starting from his place, 
Oileau Ajax rises to the race ; 
Ulysses next , and he whose speed surpast 
I lis youthful equals , Nestor's son, the last. 
I'.ang'd in a line the ready racers stand ; 
Pelides points the barrier with his hand : 
All start at once ; Oileus led the race ; 
The next, Llysscs, measuring pace with pace ; 
Behind him , diligently close , he sped , 
As closely following as the running thread 
The spindle follows, and displays the charms 
Of.the fair spinster's breast and moving arms : 
Graceful in motion, thus his foe he plies, 
And treads each footstep ere the dust can rise : 
His glowing breath upon his shoulders plays ; 
Th 1 admiring Greeks loud acclamations raise ; 
To him they give their wishes, hearts, and eyes , 
And send their souls before him as he flies. 
Now three times turn'd in prospect of the goal , 
The panting chief to Pallas lifts his soul : 
« Assist, O goddess ! » ( thus in thought he pray'd) 
And present at his thought descends the maid. 
Buoy VI by her heavenly force , he seems to swim , 
And feels a pinion lifting every limb. 
All fierce and ready now the prize to gain , 
Unhappy Ajax stumbles on the plain, 



BOOK XXIII. 479 

O'ertum'd by Pallas , where the slippery shore 
Was clogg'd with slimy dung and mingled gore •. 
The self-same place , beside Patroclus' pyre , 
Where late the slaughter' d victims fed the fire. 
Besniear'd with filth, and blotted o'er with clay, 
Obscene to sight , the rueful racer lay ; 
The well-fed bull , the second prize , he shar'd , 
And left the urn Ulysses' rich reward. 
Then , grasping by the horn the mighty beast , 
The baffled hero thus the Greeks addrest : 

« Accursed fate! the conquest I forego; 
A mortal I , a goddess was my foe ; 
She urg'd her favourite on the rapid way, 
And Pallas , not Ulysses , won the day. » 

Thus sourly wail'd he , sputtering dirt and gore ; 
A burst of laughter echo'd thro' the shore. 
Antilochus , more humourous than the rest , 
Takes the last prize , and takes it with a jest. 

« Why with our wiser elders should we strive ? 
The gods still love them, and they always thrive. 
Ye see, to Ajax I must yield the prize; 
He to Ulysses , still more ag'd and wise : 
A green old age , unconscious of decays , 
That proves the hero born in better days ! 
Behold his vigour in this active race ! 
Achilles only boasts a swifter pace : 
For who can match Achilles? He who can, 
Must yet be more than hero , more than man. » 

Th' effect succeeds the speech. Pelides cries : 
« Thy artful praise deserves a better prize. 
Nor Greece in vain shall hear thy Mend extoll'd: 
Pieceive a talent of the purest gold. » 
The youth departs content. The host admire 
The son of Nestor, worthy of his sire. 

Next these, a buckler, spear, and helm , he brings \ 
Cast on the plain, the brazen burden rings : 
Arms, which of late divine Sarpedon wore, 
And great Patroclus in short triumph boie. 
« Stand forth the bravest of our host! (he cries ) 
Whoever dares deserve so rich a prize , 
Now grace the lists before our army's sight , 
And , shealh'd in steel , provoke his foe to fight. 



480 homer's jliad. 

Who first the jointed armour shall explore , 
And stain his rival's mail with issuing gore *, 
The sword Asteropeus possest of old , 
A Thracian blade, distinct with studs of gold, 
Shall pay the stroke , and grace the striker's side : 
These arms in common let the chiefs divide : 
For each brave champion, when the combat ends , 
A sumptuous banquet at our tent attends. » 

Fierce at the word, uprose great Tydeus' son , 
And the huge bulk of Ajax Telamon. 
Clad in refulgent steel, on either hand, 
The dreadful chiefs amid the circle stand : 
Lowering they meet , tremendous to the sight ; 
Each Argive bosom beats with fierce delight. 
Oppos'd in arms not long they idly stood , 
But thrice they clos'd , and thrice the charge reucw'd. 
A furious pass the spear of Ajax made 
Thro' the broad shield, but at the corselet stay'd : 
Not thus the foe : his javelin aim'd above 
The buckler's margin , at the neck he drove. 
But Greece , now trembling for her hero's life , 
Bade share the honours, and surcease the strife. 
Yet still the victor's due Tydides gains ; 
With him the sword and studded belt remains. 

Then hurl'd the hero , thundering on the ground , 
A mass of iron, an enormous round , 
Whose weight aud size the circling Greeks admire , 
Rude from the furnace , and but shap'd by fire. 
This mighty quoit Action wont to rear, 
And from his whirling arm dismiss in air : 
The giant by Achilles slain , he stow'd 
Among his spoils this memorable load. 
For this , he bids those nervous artists vie , 
That teach the disk to sound along the sky. 
Let him , whose might can hurl this bowl , arise ; 
Who farthest hurls it , takes it as his jfrize : 
If he be one , enrich'd with large domain 
Of downs for flocks, and arable for grain , 
Small stock of iron needs that man provide ; 
His hinds and swains whole years shall be supply'd 
From hence : nor ask the neighbouring city's aid , 
For ploughshares , wheels, and all the rural trade. 



BOOK XXIII. 4^1 

Stern Polypaetes stept before the throng , 

And great Leonteus , more than mortal strong ; 

Whose force with rival forces to oppose , 

Uprose great Ajax ; up Epeus rose. 

Each stood in order; first Epeus threw ; 

High o'er the wondering crowds the whirling circle flew. 

Leonteus next a little space surpast , 

And third , the strength of godlike Ajax cast. 

O'er both their marks it flew ; till fiercely flung 

From Polypsetes' arm , the discus sung : 

Far as a swain his whirling sheephook throws , 

That distant falls among the grazing cows , 

So past them all the rapid circle flies : \ 

His friends, while loud applauses shake the skies, ' 

With force conjoin'd heave off the weighty prize* \ 

Those who in skilful archery contend , * 

He next invites the twanging bow to bend 1 

x\nd twice ten axes casts amidst the round , 

Ten double-edg'd , and ten that singly wound. 
The mast , which late a first-rate galley bore , 

The hero fixes in the sandy shore. 

To the tall top a milk white dove they tie , 

The trembling mark at which their arrows ily. 

ft Whose weapon strikes yon fluttering bird , shall bear 

These two-edg'd axes, terrible in war : 

The single, he , whose shaft divides the cord. » 

He said : experienc'd Merion took the word; 

xAnd skilful Teucer ; in the helm they threw 

Their lots inscrib'd , and forth the latter flew. 

Swift from the string the sounding arrow flies ; 

But flies unblest ! JN'o grateful sacrifice , 

No firstling lambs , unheedful ! didst thou vow 

To Phcebus , patron of the shaft and bow. 

For this , thy well-aim'd arrow turn'd aside , 

Err'd from the dove , yet cut the cord that ty'd ; 

A -down the main-mast fell the parted string , 

And the free bird to heaven displays her wing : 

Seas , shores , and skies , with loud applause resound , 

And Merion eager meditates the wound : 

He takes the bow , directs the shaft above, 

And following with his eye the soaring dove , 

21 



A.02, HOMER'S ILIAD. BOOK XXIII. 

Implores the god to speed it thro' the skies , 

With vows of firstling lamhs , and grateful sacrifice. 

The dove , in airy circles as she wheels, 

Amid the clouds the piercing arrow feels ; 

Quite thro 7 and thro' the point its passage found , 

And at his feet fell hloody to the ground. 

The wounded bird, ere yet she breath'd her last, 

With flagging wings alighted on the mast , 

A moment hung, and spread her pinions there, 

Then sudden dropt , and left her life in air. 

From the pleas'd crowd new peals of thunder rise , 

And to the ships brave Merion bears the prize. 

To close the funeral games , Achilles last 
A massy spear amid the circle plac'd, 
An ample charger of unsullied frame , 
With flowers high-wrought, not blacken'd yet by flame. 
For these he bids the heroes prove their art, 
Whose dextrous skill directs the flying dart. 
Here too great Merion hopes the noble prize ; 
INor here disdain'd the king of men to rise. 
With joy Pelides saw.the honour paid, 
Rose to the monarch , and respectful said : 

« The first in virtue , as in power supreme , 
O king of nations ! all thy Greeks proclaim; 
In every martial game thy worth attest , 
And know thee both their greatest , and their best* 
Take then the prize , but let brave Merion bear 
This beamy javelin in thy brother's war. » 

Pleas'd from the hero's lips his praise to hear, 
The king to Merion gives the brazen spear ; 
But , set apart for sacred use a commands 
The glittering charger toTalthybius' hands. 



THE ARGUMENT. 

The redemption of the body of Hector, 

The gods deliberate about the redemption of Hector's body 
Jupiter sends Thetis to Achilles to dispose him for restor- 
ing it ; and Iris to Priam, to encourage him to go in 
person, and treat for it. The old king, notwithstanding 
the remonstrances of his queen , makes ready for the jour- 
ney, to which he is encouraged by an omen from Jupiter, 
He sets forth in his chariot, with a waggon loaded with 
presents , under the charge of Idaeus , the herald. Mercury 
descends in the shape of a young man, and conducts him 
to the pavilion of Achilles. Their conversation on the way. 
Priam finds Achilles at his table , casts himself at his feet , 
and begs for the body of his son; Achilles, moved with 
compassion, grants his request, detains him one night in 
his tent , and the next morning sends him home with the 
body : the Trojans rim out to meet him. The lamentations 
of Andromache, Hecuba, and Helen, with the solemnities 
of the funeral. 
The time of twelve days is employed in this book, while 
the body of Hector lies in the tent of Achilles. And as many 
more are spent in the truce allowed for his interment. The 
scene is partly in Achilles' camp, and partly in Troy. 



THE 

ILIAD. 

BOOK XXIV, 



JN ow from the finished games the Grecian band 

Seek their black ships, and clear the crowded strand ; 

All stretch'd at ease the genial banquet share, 

And pleasing slumbers quiet all their care. 

Not so Achilles : he to grief resigned , 

His friend's dear image present to his mind , 

Takes his sad couch , more unobserved to weep , 

Nor tastes the gifts of all- composing sleep. 

Restless he roll'd around his weary bed , 

And all his soul on his Patroclus fed : 

The form so pleasing , and the heart so kind , 

That youthful vigour , and that manly mind ; 

What toils they shar'd, what martial works they wrought, 

What seas they measur'd , and what fields they fought •, 

All past before him in remembrance dear , 

Thought follows thought , and tear succeeds to tear. 

And now supine , now prone , the hero lay , 

Now shifts his side , impatient for the day : 

Then starting up , disconsolate he goes 

Wide on the lonely beach to vent his woes. 

There, as the solitary mourner raves, 

The ruddy morning rises o'er the waves : 

Soon as it rose , his furious steeds he join'd; 

The chariot flies , and Hector trails behind. 

And thrice , Patroclus ! round thy monument 

Was Hector dragg'd , then hurry'd to the tent. 

There sleep at last o'ercomes the hero's eyes ; 

While foul in dust th' unhonour'd carcase lies., 

But not deserted by the pitying skies. ! 

For Phoebus watch'd it with superior care , 

Preserv'd from gaping wounds and tainting air •, 



486 HOMER ? S ILIAD, 

And ignominious as it swept the field , 
Spread o'er the sacred corpse his golden shield. 
All heaven was mov'd , and Hermes will'd to go 
By stealth to snatch him from th 1 insulting' foe : 
But Neptune this , and Pallas this denies , 
And th' unrelenting empress of the skies : 
E'er since that day implacahle to Troy , 
What time young Paris, simple shepherd boy , 
Won by destructive lust , reward obscene , 
Their charms rejected for the Cyprian queen. 
But when the tenth celestial morning broke , 
To heaven assembled, thus Apollo spoke : 

a Unpi tying powers! how oft each holy fane 
Has Hector ting'd with Mood of victims slain! 
And can ye still his cold remains pursued 
Still grudge his body to the Trojans' view I 
Deny to consort , mother, son, and sire, 
The last sad honours of a funeral fire \ 
Is then the dire Achilles all your care l . 
That iron heart, inflexibly severe ; 
A lion , not a man , who slaughters wide 
In strength of rage and impotence of pride; 
Who bastes to murder with a savage joy , 
Invades around, and breathes but to destroy. 
Shame is not of his soul ; nor understood, 
The greatest evil and the greatest good. 
Still for one loss he rages unresigri'd , 
Repugnant to the lot of all mankind ; 
To lose a friend , a brother , or a son , 
Heaven dooms each mortal , and its will is done " T 
A while they sorrow , then dismiss their care , 
Fate gives the wound , and man is born to bear. 
But this, insatiate , the commission given 
By Fate exceeds ; and tempts the wrath of heaven i 
Lo ! how his rage dishonest drags along 
Hector's dead earth , insensible of wrong ! 
Brave tho' he be , yet by no reason aw'd , 
He violates the laws of man and God. » 

a If equal honours by the partial skies 
Are doom'd both heroes , ( Juno thus replies) 
If Thetis' son must no distinction know , 
Then hear , ye gods I the patron of the bo\t* 



BOOK XXIV. 4^7 

But Beef or only boasts a mortal claim , 
His birth deriving from a mortal dame ; 
Achilles of your own ethereal race 
Springs from a goddess by a man's embrace •, 
A goddess by ourself to Peleus given , 
A man divine , and chosen friend of heaven. 
To grace those nuptials from the bright abode 
Yourselves were present ; where this minstrel-god > 
Well pleas' d to share the feast , amid the quire 
Stood proud to hymn, and tune his youthful lyre » 

Then thus the thunderer checks th' imperial dame : # 
« Let not thy wrath the court of heaven inflame ; r 

Their merits, not their honours , are the same. 1 

But mine , and every god's peculiar grace , 
Hector deserves , of all the Trojan race : 
Still oa our shrines his grateful offerings lay, 
The only honours men to gods can pay ; 
Nor ever from our smoking altar ceas'd 
The pure libation, and the holy feast. 
However by stealth to snatch the corpse away 
We will not : Thetis guards it night and day. 
But haste, and summon to our courts above 
The azure queen ; let her persuasion move 
Her furious son from Priam to receive 
The profrer'd ransom , and the corpse to leave. » 
He added not : and Iris from the skies , 

Swift as a whirlwind on the message flics. 
Meteoi ous the face of ocean sweeps , 

Refulgent gliding o'er the sable deeps, 
Between where Samos wide his forests spreads, 

And rocky Imbrus lifts its pointed beads. 

Down plung'd the maid ; the parted waves resound 

She piung'd, and instant shut the dark profound. 

As , bearing death in the fallacious bait , 

From the bent angle sinks the leaden weight ; 

So pass'd the goddess thro' the closing wave, 

Where Thetis sorrow'd in her secret cave : 

There , plac'd amidst her melancholy train , 

The blue-hair'd sisters of the sacred main , 

Pensive she sat , revolving fates to come , 

And wept her godlike son's approaching doom. 



488 homer's ILIAD. 

Then thus the goddess of the painted bow : 
« Arise , O Thetis ! from thy seats below ; 
'Tis Jove that calls. » — « And why ( the dame replies) 
Calls Jove his Thetis to the hated skies I 
Sad object as I am for heavenly sight ! 
Ah , may my sorrows ever shun the light ! 
Howe'er , be heaven's almighty sire ohey'd — » 
She spake, and veild her head in sable shade , 
"Which , flowing long , her graceful person clad ; 
And forth she pac'd , majestically sad. 

Then thro' the world of waters they repair > 
The way fair Iris led , to upper air. 
The deeps dividing , o'er the coast they rise , 
And touch with momentary flight the skies. 
There in the lightning's blaze the sire they found , 
And all the gods in shining synod round. 
Thetis approach'd with anguish in her face *, 
Minerva, rising, gave the mourner place ; 
Ev'n Juno sought her sorrows to console , 
And offer'd from her hand the nectar-bowl : 
She tasted , and resign'd it : then began 
The sacred sire of gods and mortal man : 

u Thou com'st, fair Thetis , but with grief o'ercast ; 
Maternal sorrows, long, ah long to last ! 
Suffice , we know and we partake thy cares y 
But yield to fate, and hear what Jove declares. 
jVine days are past , since all the court above 
In Hector's cause have mov'd the ear of Jove , 
'Twas voted, Hermes from his godlike foe 
JBy stealth should bear him , but we will not so ; 
We will , thy son himself the corpse restore, 
And to his conquest add this glory more. 
Then hie thee to him , and our mandate bear ; 
Tell him he tempts the wrath of heaven too far : 
INlor let him more, our anger if he dread , 
Vent his mad vengeance on the sacred dead : 
Bat yield to ransom find the father's prayer. 
The mournful father, Iris shall prepare , 
"With gifts to sue •, and offer to his hands 
Whate'er his honour asks , or heart demands. » 

His word the silver-footed queen attends > 
And from Olympus' snowy top descends. 



BOOK XXTV. 4^9 

Arriv'd, she beard the voice of loud lament, 
And echoing groans that shook the lofty tent. 
His friends prepare the victim , and dispose 
Repast unheeded, while he vents his woes : 
The goddess seats her by her pensive son , 
She prest his hand , and tender thus begun : 

« How long, unhappy ! shall thy sorrows flow J 
And thy heart waste with life- consuming woe l . 
Mindless of food , or love, whose pleasing reign 
Soothes weary life , and softens human pain£ 
O snatch the moments yet within thy power ; 
Not long to live , indulge the amorous hour ! 
Lo ! Jove himself, for Jove's command I bear, 
Forbids to tempt the wrath of heaven too far. 
No longer then , his fury if thou dread , 
Detain the relics of great Hector dead ; 
Nor vent on senseless earth thy vengeance vain, 
But yield to ransom , and restore the slain. » 

To whom Achilles : « Be the ransom given, 
And we submit, since such the will of heaven. » 

"While thus they cornmun'd, from th' Olympian bowers, 
J-ove orders Iris to the Trojan towers. 
« Haste , winged goddess , to the sacred town , 
And urge her monarch to redeem his son ; 
Alone , the Irian ramparts let him leave , 
And bear what stern Achilles may receive : 
Alone , for so we will : no Trojan near , 
Except, to place the dead with decent care, 
Some aged herald , who , with gentle hand , 
May the slow mules and funeral car command. 
Nor let him death , nor let him danger dread ? 
Safe thro' the foe by our protection led : 
Him Hermes to Achilles shall convey, 
Guard of his life, and partner of his way. 
Fierce as he is > Achilles' self shall spare 
His age , nor touch one venerable hair : 
Some thought there must be in a soul so brave, 
Some sense of duty, some desire to save. » 

Then down her bow the winged Iris drives , 
And swift at Priam's mournful court arrives*, 
Where the sad sons beside their father's throne 
Sat bath'd in tears, and answer'd groan with groan. 



49° KOMER's ILIAD. 

And all amidst them lay the hoary sire, 

Sad scene of woe ! his face, his wrapt attire , 

Conceal'd from sight ; with frantic hands he spread 

A shower of ashes o'er his neck and head. 

From room to room his pensive daughters roam , 

Whose shrieks and clamours fill the vaulted dome ; 

Mindful of those, who, late their pride and joy, 

Lie pale and breathless round the fields of Troy ! 

Before the king Jove's messenger appears, 

And thus , in whispers , greets his trembling ears: 

« Fear not, oh father! no ill news I bear ; 
From Jove I come , Jove makes thee still his care ; 
For Hector's sake these walls he bids thee leave ? 
And bear what stern Achilles may receive : 
Alone, for so he wills : no Trojan near, 
Except , to place the dead with decent care , 
Some aged herald , who , with gentle hand , 
May the slow mules and funeral car command. 
2S T or shalt thou death , nor shalt thou danger dread , 
Safe thro' the foe by his protection led: 
Thee Hermes to Felides shall convey, 
Guard of thy life , and partner of thy way. 
Fierce as he is, Achilles' self shall spare 
Thy age , nor touch one venerable hair : 
Some thought there must be in a soul so brave % 
Some sense of duty , some desire to save. » 

She spoke, and vanish'd. Priam bitis prepare 
His gentle mules , and harness to the car *, 
There , for the gifts , a polish'd casket lay : 
His pious sons the king's command obey. 
Then past the monarch to his bridal room , 
Where cedar-beams the lofty roofs perfume , 
And where the treasures of his empire lay ; 
Then call'd his queen , and thus began to say : 

« Unhappy consort of a king distrest! 
Par'ake the troubles of thy husband's breast : 
I saw 7 descend the messenger of Jove , 
Who bids me try Achiiles' mind to move ; 
Forsake these ramparts, and with gifts obtain 
The corpse of Hector, at yen navy slain. 
Tell me thy thought : my heart impels to go 
Tiiro' hostile camps ? and bears me to the foe. p 



BOOK XXIV. 49 l 

The hoary monarch thus. Her piercing cries 
Sad Hecuba renews, and then replies : 

« Ah! whither wanders thy distemper'd mind? 
And where the prudence now that aw'd mankind? 
Thro' Phrygia once, and foreign regions known* 
JNow all confas'd , distracted, overthrown! 
Singly to pass thro' hosts of foes ! to face 
Oh heart of steel 1 the murderer of thy race ! 
To view that deathful eye , and wander o'er 
Those hands, yet red with Hector's noble gore! 
Alas, my lord ! he knows not how to spare ; 
And what his mercy, thy slain sons declare ; 
So brave ! so many fall'n ! To calm his rage , 
Vain were thy dignity, and vain thy age. 
IV o — pent in this sad palace , let us give 
To grief the wretched days we have to live. 
Still , stilt for Hector let our sorrows flow, 
Born to his own and to his parents woe! 
Doom'd from the hour his luckless life begun , 
To dogs, to vultures , and to Peleus' son ! 
Oh! in bis dearest blood might I allay 
My rage, and these barbarities repay! 
For ah! could Hector merit thus, whose breath 
Expir'd not meanly in unactive death ? 
He pour'd his latest blood in manly light , 
And fell a hero in his country's right. » 

— « Seek not to stay me, nor my soul affright 
With words of omen, like a bird of night ; 
( Reply'd, unmov'd , the venerable man ) 
Til heaven commands me , and you urge in vain. 
Had any mortal voice th' injunction laid , 
Nor augur, priest, or seer, had been obey'd. 
A present goddess brought the high command ; 
I saw, I heard her, and the word shall stand. 
* c° > } e gods! obedient to your call : 
If in yon camp your powers have doom'd my fall , 
Content — tiy the same hand let me expire ! 
Add to the slaugther'd son the wretched sire! 
One cold embrace at least may be allow'd , 
And my last tears flow'miogled with his blood f » 

From forth his open'd stores, this said , he drew 
Twelve costly carpets of refulgent hue , 



49 2 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

As many vests , as many mantles told , 
And twelve fair veils and garments stiff with gold. 
Two tripods next , and twice two chargers shine , 
With ten pure talents from the richest mine ; 
And last a large well-labour'd howl had place, 
The pledge of treaties once with friendly Thrace. 
Seem'd all too mean the stores he could employ, 
For one last look to buy him hack to Troy ! 

Lo! the sad father, frantic with his pain, 
Around him furious drives his menial train : 
In vain each slave with duteous care attends, 
Each office hurts him, and each face offends. 
« \\ hat make ye here? officious crowds ! (he cries) 
Hence ! nor obtrude your anguish on my eyes. 
Have ye no griefs at home , to fix you there ? 
Am I the only object of despair l . 
Am I become my people's common show, 
Set up by Jove your spectacle of woe? 
No , you must feel him too ; yourselves must fall ; 
The same stern god to ruin gives you all: 
Nor is great Hector lost by me alone ; 
Your sole defence , jour guardian power , is gone ! 
I see your blood the fields of Phrygia drown , 
I see the ruins of your smoking town! 
O send me , gods ! ere that sad day shall come , 
A willing ghost to Pluto's dreary dome ! » 

He said , and feebly drives his friends away ; 
The sorrowing friends his frantic rage obey. 
Next on his sous his erring fury falls ; 
Polites, Paris, Agathon, he calls; 
His threats Deiphobus and Dius hear, 
Hippofhous, Pammon, Helenus the seer, 
And generous Antiphon : for yet these nine 
Surviv'd, sad relics of his numerous line, 

« Inglorious sons of an unhappy sire! 
"Why did not all in Hector's cause expire ? 
Wretch that I am! my bravest offspring slain , 
You, the disgrace of Priam's house, remain! 
Nestor the brave, renown'd in ranks of war, 
With Troilus , dreadful on his rushing car, 
And last great Hector, more than man divine, 
Jor sure he seem'd not of terrestrial line ! 



BOOK XXIV. 49^ 

All those relentless Mars untimely slew. 
And left me these, a soft and servile crew , 
Whose days the feast and wantoa dance employ, 
Gluttons and flatterers , the contempt of Troy J 
Why teach ye not my rapid wheels to run , 
And speed my journey to redeem my son? » 

The sons their father's wretched age revere , 
Forgive his anger, and produce the car. 
High on the seat the cabinet they hind ; 
The new made car with solid beauty shin'd ; 
Box was the joke , emboss'd with costly pains , 
And hung with ringlets to receive the reins ; 
Nine cubits long the traces swept the ground ; 
These to the chariot's polish'd pole th?y bound, 
Then fix'd a ring the running reins to guide , 
And close beneath the gather'd ends were ty'd. 
IVext with the gifts, the price of Hector slain, 
The sad attendants load the groaning wain : 
Last to the yoke the well-match' d mules they bring, 
The gift of Mysia to the Trojan king. 
But the fair horses , long his darling care , 
Himself reeeiv'd , and harness'd to his car: 
GrievM as he was , he not this task deny'd ; 
The hoary herald help'd him at his side. 
While careful these the gentle coursers join'd, 
Sad Hecuba approached with anxious mind ; 
A golden bowl , that foam'd with fragrant wine, 
Libation destin'd to the power divine , 
Held in her right , before the steeds she stands , 
And thus consigns it to the monarch's hands : 

« Take this, and pour to Jove ; that, safe from harms, 
His grace restore thee to our roof and arms. 
Since, victor of thy fears, and slighting mine, 
Heaven , or thy soul, inspire this bold design: 
Pray to that god, who high on Ida's brow 
Surveys thy desolated realms below, 
His winged messenger to send from high, 
And lead thy way with heavenly augury: 
Let the strong sovereign of the plumy race 
Tower on the right of yon etherial space. 
That sign beheLl, and strengthened from above, 
Boldly pursue the journey markd by Jove*, 



494 HOMERS ILIAD. 

But if the god his augury denies, 
Suppress thy impulse, nor reject advice. » 

— «'Tis just ( said Priam) to the sire above 
To raise our hands ; for who so good as Jove \ » 
He spoke , and bade th' attendant handmaid bring 
The purest water of the living spring : 
Her ready hands the ewer and bason held : 
Then took the golden cup his queen had fill'd ; 
On the mid pavement pours the rosy wine , 
Uplifts his eyes, and calls the power divine: 

« O first and greatest ! heaven's imperial lord! 
On lofty Ida's holy hill ador'd ! 
To stern Achilles now" direct my ways , 
And teach him mercy when a father prays. 
If such thy will , dispatch from yonder sky 
Thy sacred bird , celestial augury ! 
Let the strong sovereign of the plumy race 
Tower on the right of yon etherial space : 
So shall thy suppliant, strengthen'd from above , 
Fearless pursue the journey mark'd by Jove. » 

Jove heard his prayer, and from the throne on high 
Dispatch'd his bird , celestial augury ! 
The swift- wing' d chaser of the feather'd game , 
And kn<"wn to gods by Percnos' lofty name. 
Wide as appears some palace-gate display'd, 
So broad, his pinions stretch'd their ample shade, 
As stooping dexter with resounding wings 
Th' imperial bird descends in airy rings. 
A dawn of joy in every face appears ; 
The mourning matron dries her timorous tears; 
Swift on bis car th' impatient monarch sprung 5 
The brazen portal in his passage rung. 
The mules preceding draw the loaded wain , 
Charg'd with the gifts : Idseus holds the rein : 
The king himself his gentle steeds controls , 
And thro' surrounding friends the chariot rolls. 
On his slow wheels the following people wait, 
Mourn at each step , and give him up to fate j 
With hands uplifted, eye him as he past, 
And gaze upon him as they gaz'd their last. 
Now forward fares the father on his way , 
Thro' the lone fields, and back to Ilion they. 



BOOK XXIV. 4?^ 

Great Jove beheld h'ra as he crost the plain, 
And felt the woes of miserable man; 
Then thus to Hermes : « Thou whose constant cares 
Still succour mortals, and attend their prayers ; 
Behold an object to thy charge consign'd : 
If ever pity toueh'd thee for mankind , 
Go , guard the sire ; th' observing foe prevent, 
And safe conduct him to Achilles' tent. » 

The god obeys , his golden pinions binds , 
And mounts incumbent on the wings of winds , 
That high thro' fields of air his flight sustain , 
O'er the wide earth , and o'er the boundless main t 
Then grasps the wand that causes sleep to fly, 
Or in soft slumbers seals the wakeful eye ; 
Thus arm'd , swift Hermes steers his airy way, 
And stoops on Hellespont's resounding sea. 
A beauteous youth , majestic and divine , 
He secm'd \ fair offspring of some princely line ! 
Now twilight veil'd the glaring face of day, 
And clad the dusky fields in sober gray ; 
AYhat time the herald and the hoary king 
Their chariots stopping, at the silver spring 
That circling Ilus' ancient marble flows, 
Allow'd their mules and steeds a short repose. 
Thro' the dim shade the herald first espies 
A man's approach , and thus to Priam cries : 
« I mark some foe's advance : O king ! beware ; 
This hard adventure claims thy utmost care : 
For much I fear destruction hovers nigh : 
Our state asks counsel. Is it best to fly? 
Or, old and helpless, at his feet to fall , 
Two wretched suppliants , and for mercy call ? » 

Th' afflicted monarch shiver'd with despair ; 
Pale grew his face, and upright stood his hair; 
Sunk was his heart ; his colour went and came ; 
A sudden trembling shook his aged frame : 
When Hermes, greeting, touch'd his royal hand, 
And gently thus accosts with kind demand : 

«Say whither, father! when each mortal sight 
Is seal'd in sleep, thou wauder'st thro' the night l . 
Why roam thy mules and steeds the plains Along , 
Thro' Grecian foes, so numerous and so strong '. 



49^ HOMERS ILIAD. 

What could'st thou hope , should these thy treasures view j 

These , who with endless hate thy race pursue ; 

For what defence, alas! could'st thou provide? 

Thyself not young, a weak old man thy guide. 

Yet suffer not thy soul to sink with dread ; 

From me no harm shall touch thy reverend head j 

From Greece I'll guard thee too ; for in those lines 

The living image of my father shines. » 

— « Thy words, that speak benevolence of mind, 
Are true, my son! (the godlike sire rejoin'd) 
Great are my hazards; but the gods survey 
My steps, and send thee, guardian of my way. 
Hail , and be blest ! for scarce of mortal kind 
Appears thy form, thy feature , and thy mind. » 

— «I\or true are all thy words, nor erriug wide *, 
( The sacred messenger of heaven reply'd ) 
But say, convey'st thou thro' the lonely plains 
What yet most precious of thy store remains, 
To lodge in safety with some friendly hand; 
Prepar'd, perchance, to leave thy native land? 
Or ily 'st thou now £ — What hopes can Troy retain ; 
Thy matchless son, her guard and glory, slain? » 

a The king, alarm'd : ft Say what, and whence thou art, 
Mho search the sorrows of a parent's heart, 
And know so well how godlike Hector dy'd? » 
Thus Priam spoke; and Hermes thus reply'd : 

« You tempt me , father, and with pity touch : 
On this sad subject you inquire too much. 
Oft have these eyes that godlike Hector view'd 
la glorious tight, with Grecian blood embruM : 
I saw him when, like Jove , his flames he tost 
On thousand ships , and withei'd half an host ; 
I saw, but help'd not : stern Achilles' ire 
Forbade assistance , and enjoy'd the fire. 
For him I serve, of Myrmidonian race ; 
One ship convey'd us from our native place *, 
Polyctor is my sire , an honour'd name, 
Old like thyself, and not unknown to fame ; 
Of seven his sons, by whom the lot was cast 
To serve our prince , it fell on me , the last. 
To watch this quarter my adventure falls , 
For with the morn the Greeks attack your walls •, 



___ 



BOOK XXIV. ^97 

Sleepless they sit , impatient to engage , 
And scarce their rulers check their martial rage. » 

— « If then thou art of stern Pelides' train , 
( The mournful monarch thus rejoin'd again) 
Ah , tell me truly, where , oh ! where are laid 
My son's dear relics % what befalls him dead % 
Have dogs dismember'd on the naked plains, 
Or yet unmangled rest his cold remains! » 

— « O favour'd of the skies ! ( thus answer'd then 
The power that mediates between gods and men ) 
Nor dogs nor vultures have thy Hector rent , 

But whole he lies , neglected in the tent : 

This the twelfth evening since he rested there , 

Untouch'd by worms , untainted by the air. 

Still as Aurora's ruddy beam is spread , 

Hound his friend's tomb Achilles drags the dead i 

Yet undisfigur'd , or in limb or face , 

AH fresh he lies , with every living grace , 

Majestical in death ! No stains are found 

O'er all the corpse , and clos'd is every wound ; 

Tho' many a wound they gave. Some heavenly care ? 

Some hand divine , preserves him ever fair : 

Or all the host of heaven , to whom he led 

A life so grateful , still regard him dead. » 

Thus spoke to Priam the celestial guide ; 
And joyful thus the royal sire reply'd : 

« Blest is the man who pays the gods above 
The constant tribute of respect and love ! 
Those who inhabit the Olympian bower 
My son forgot not , in exalted power -, 
And heaven , that every virtue bears in mind , 
Ev'n to the ashes of the just is kind. 
But thou, oh generous youth ! this goblet lake, 
A pledge of gratitude , for Hector's sake; 
And while the favouring gods our steps survey, 
Safe to Pelides' tent conduct my way. » 

To whom the latent god: « O king, forbear 
To tempt my youth , for apt is youth to err : 
But can I, absent from my prince's sight, 
Take gifts in secret, that must shun the light? 
What from our master's interest thus we draw, 
I* but a liceus'd theft that 'scapes the law. 



498 HOMER^S ILIAD. 

Respecting him , my soul abjures th' offence } 

And as the crime , I dread the consequence. 

Thee, far as Argos , pleas'd I could convey ; 

Guard of thy life , and partner of thy way : 

On thee attend, thy safety to maintain, 

O'er pathless forests , or the roaring main, w 
He said , then took the chariot at the bound , 

And snatch'd the reins , and whirl'd the lash around \ 

Before th' inspiring god that urg'd them on , 

The coursers fly, with spirit not their own. 

And now they reach'd the naval walls, and found 

The guards repasting, while the bowls go round ; 

On these the virtue of his wand he tries , 

And pours deep slumber on their watchful eyes : 

Then heav'd the massy gates, remov'd the bars , 

And o'er the trenches led the rolling cars. 

"Unseen, thro' all the hostile camp they went , 

And now approach'd Pelides' lofty tent. 

Of fir the roof was rais'd , and cover'd o'er 

"With reeds collected from the marshy shore ; 

And, fenc'd with palisades, a hall of state, 

The work of soldiers , where the hero sate. 

Large was the door, whose well-compacted strength 

A solid pine-tree barr'd , of wondrous length : 

Scarce three strong Greeks could lift its mighty weight , 

But great Achilles singly clos'd the gate. 

This Hermes , such the power of gods ! set wide *, 

Then swift alighted the celestial guide , 

And thus reveal'd — «Hear, prince ! and understand 

Thou ow'st thy guidance to no mortal hand : 

Hermes I am , descended from above , 

The king of arts, the messenger of Jove. 

Farewell : to shun Achilles' sight I fly *, ) 

Uncommon are such favours of the sky, > 

JVor stand confest to frail mortality. \ 

Now fearless enter, and prefer thy prayer^; 

Adjure him by his father's silver hairs , 

His son , his mother ! urge him to bestow 

"Whatever pity that stern heart can know. » 

Thus having said, he vanish'd from his eyes , 
And in a moment shot into the skies ; 



1 



book xxiv. 499 

The king* confirmed from heaven, alighted there, 

And left his aged herald on the car. 

With solemn pace thro' various rooms he went, 

And found Achilles in his inner tent : 

There sat the hero : Alcimus the brave , 

And great Automedon , attendance gave : 

These serv'd his person at the royal feast : 

Around , at awful distance , stood the rest. 

Unseen by these , the king his entry made ; 
And, prostrate now before Achilles laid, 
Sudden , a venerable sight ! appears ; 
Embrac'd his knees , and bath'd his hands in tears j 
Those direful hands his kisses pressM , embru'd 
Ev'n with the best , the dearest of his blood ! 

As when a wretch , who , conscious of his crime, 
Pursu'd for murder, flies his native clime , 
Just gains some frontier, breathless, pale, ama.'d ! 
All gaze , all wonder! thus Achilles gaz'd : 
Thus stood th' attendants, stupid with surprize : 
All mute, yet seem'd to question with their eyes ! 
Each look'd on other , none the silence broke , 
Till thus at last the kingly suppliant spoke : 

« Ah think , thou favour'd of the powers divine ! 
Think of thy father's age, and pity mine ! 
In me , that father's reverend image trace , 
Those silver hairs, that venerable face ; 
His trembling limbs , his helpless person , see ! 
In all my equal , but in misery ! 
Yet now perhaps , some turn of human fate 
Expels him helpless from his peaceful state ; 
Think , from some powerful foe thou see'st him fly, 
And beg protection with a feeble cry. 
"Yet still one comfort in his soul may rise ; 
He hears his sou still lives to gla i his eyes ; 
And, hearing, still may hope a better day 
May send him thee, to chase that foe away. 
No comfort to my griefs , no hopes remain , 
The best, the bravest , of my sons are slain ! 
Yet what a race ! ere Greece to llioii came , 
The pledge of many a lov'd and loving dame ! 
Nineteen one mother bore — Dead , all are dead, ! 
How oil , alas ! has wretched Priam bW ! 



500 HOMERS ILIA Be 

Still one was left , their loss to recompense i 
His father's hope , his country's last defence. 
Him too thy rage has slain ! beneath thy steef 9 
Unhappy , in his country's cause he fell I 

« For him , thro' hostile camps 1 bent my way ? 
For him , thus prostrate at thy feet I lay ; 
Large gifts proportion'd to thy wrath I hear ; 
O hear the wretched , and the gods revere ! 

« Think of thy father , and this face behold I 
See him in me , as helpless and as old I 
Tho' not so wretched : there he jdelds to mc , 
The first of men in sovereign misery. 
Thus fore'd to kneel , thus groveling to embrace 
The scourge and ruin of my realm and race *, 
Suppliant my children's murderer to implore , 
And kiss those hands yet reeking with their gore t *> 

These words soft pity in the chief inspire , 
Touch'd with the dear remembrance of his sire. 
Then with his hand , as prostrate still he lay , 
The old man's cheek he gently turn'd away. 
Now each by turns indulg'd the gush of woe \ 
And now the mingle'd tides together flow : 
This low on earth , that gently bending o'er \ 
A father one, and one a sou deplore : 
But great Achilles different passions rend , 
And now his sire he mourns , and now his friend. 
Th' infectious softness thro' the heroes ran ; 
One universal solemn shower began ; 
They bore as heroes , but they felt as man. 

Satiate at length with unavailing woes , 
From the high throne divine Achilles rose ; 
The reverend monarch by the hand he rais'd ; 
On his white beard and form majestic gaz'd , 
Not unrelenting : then serene began 
With words to soothe the miserable man. 

« Alas ! what weight of anguish hast thou known ! 
Unhappy prince ! thus guardless and alone 
To pass thro' foes , and thus undaunted face 
The man whose fury has destroy'd thy race ? 
Heaven sure has arm'd thee with a heart of steel ? 
A strength proportion'd to the woes you feel. 



book xxiv. 5oi 

tlise then : let reason mitigate our care : 

To rnoarn, avails not ; man is born to bear. 

Such is , aJas ! the gods* severe decree ; 

They, only they are blest , and only free. 

Two urns by Jove's high throne have ever stood, 

The source of evil one , and one of good ; 

From thence the cup of mortal man he fills, 

Blessings to these , to those distributes ills ; 

To most , he mingles both : the wretch decreed 

To taste the bad , unmix' d , is curst indeed ; 

Pursu'd by wrongs, by meagre famine driven, 

He wanders, outcast both of earth and heaven. 

The happiest , taste not happiness sincere ; 

But find the cordial draught is dash'd with care. 

Who more than Peleus shone in wealth and power ! 

What stars concurring blest his natal hour ! 

A realm , a goddess , to his wishes given , 

Grac'd by the gods with all the gifts of heaven! 

One evil yet o'ertakes his latest day, 

No race succeeding to imperial sway : 

An only son ! and he , alas ! ordain'd 

To fall untimely in a foreign land ! 

See him, in Troy, the pious care decline 

Of his weak age , to live the curse of thine ! 

Thou too, old man, has,t happier days bebeld; 

In riches once , in children once excell'd ; 

Extended Phrygia own'd thy ample reign , i 

And all fair Lesbos' blissful seats contain , \ 

And all wide Hellespont's unmeasur'd main. 1 

But since the god his hand has pleas'd to turn, 

And fill thy measure from his bitter urn , 

What sees the sun , but hapless heroes' falls? 

War and the Hood of men surround thy walls ! 

What must be , must be. Bear thy lot , nor shed 

These unavailing sorrows o'er the dead; 

Thou canst not call him from the Stygian shore, 

But thou , alas ! may'st live to suffer more ! » 

To whom the king : « O favour'd of the skies ! ) 

Here let me grow to earth ! since Hector lies 
On the bare beach , depriv'd of obsequies. 
O give me Hector ! to my eyes restore 
His corpse , and take the gifts : I ask no more. 



i 



5o2 HOMERS ILIAD. 

Thou , as thou may'st, these boundless stores enjoy; 

Safe may'st thou sail , and turn thy wrath from Troy ; 

So shall Ihy pity and forbearance give 

A weak old man to see the light , and live ! » 

— « Move me no more ! ( Achilles thus replies , 
While kindling anger sparkled in his eyes ) 
Nor seek by tears my steady soul to bend ; 
To yield thy Hector I myself intend : 
For know, from Jove my goddess-mother came, 
Old Ocean's daughter , silver-footed dame : 
Nor com'st thou but by heaven ; nor com'st alone, 
Some god impels with courage not thy'own : 
No human hand the weighty gates unbarr'd , 
Nor could the boldest of our youth have dar'd 
To pass our out-works , or elude the guard. 
Cease, lest, neglectful of high Jove's command, 
I show thee , king ! thou tread'st on hostile land ; 
ilelease my knees , thy suppliant arts give o'er , 
And shake the purpose of my soul no more.» 

The sire obey'd him, trembling and o'er-aw'd. 
Achilles , like a lion, rush'd abroad: 
Automedonand Alcimus attend , 
Whom most he honour' d since he lost his friend. 
7 hese to un\oke the mules and horses went , 
And led the hoary herald to the tent ; 
Next heap'd on high the numerous presents bear , 
Great Hector's ransom, from the polish'd car. 
Two splendid mantles , and a carpet spread , 
They leave , to cover and inwrap the dead. 
Then call the handmaids , with assistant toil 
To wash the body and anoint with oil , 
Apart from Priam , lest th' unhappy sire , 
Provok'd to passion , once more rouse to ire 
The stern Pelides; and nor sacred age , 
Nor Jove's command , should check the rising rage. 
This done , the garments o'er the corpse they spread ; 
Achilles lifts it to the funeral bed : 
Then, while the body on the car they laid, 
He groans , and calls on lov'd Patroclus' shade : 

« If, in that gloom which never light must know ? 
The deeds of mortals touch the ghosts below : 



book xxiv. 5o3 

O friend ! forgive me , that I thus fulfil , 
Restoring Hector , heaven's unquestion'd will. 
The gifts the father gave , he ever thine , 
To grace thy manes , and adorn thy shrine. » 

He said, and , entering, took his seat of state , 
Where full hefore him reverend Priam sate ; 
To whom, compos'd , the godlike chief begun: 
« Lo ! to thy prayer restor'd , thy breathless son : 
Extended on the funeral couch he lies ; 
And soon as morniug paints the eastern skies , 
The sight is granted to thy longing eyes. 
But now the peaceful hours of sacred night 
Demand refection , and to rest invite : 
Nor thou, O father ! thus consumed with woe, 
The common cares that nourish life forego. 
Not thus did Niobe , of form divine , 
A parent once , whose sorrows equall'd thine : 
Six youthful sons , as many blooming maids, 
In one sad day beheld the Stygian shades ; 
These by Apollo's silver bow were slain , 
Those , Cynthia's arrows stretch'd upon the plain. 
So was her pride chastis'd by wrath divine , 
Who match'd her own with bright Latona's line ; 
But two the goddess , twelve the queen enjoy'd ; 
Those boasted twelve th' avenging two destroy'd. 
Steep'd in their blood, and in the dust outspread, 
Nine days, neglected, lay expos'd the dead 5 
None by to weep them, to inhume them none ; 
For Jove had turn'd the nation all to stone : 
The gods themselves at length, relenting, gave 
Th' unhappy race the honours of the grave. 
Herself a rock, for such was heaven's high will, 
Thro' deserts wild now pours a weeping rill ; 
Where round the bed whence Achelous springs, 
The watery fairies dance in mazy rings, 
There high on Sipylus's shaggy brow , 
She stands , her own sad monument of woe; 
The rock for ever lasts, the tears for ever flow. 

« Such griefs, O king! have other parents known ; 
Remember theirs, and mitigate thy own. 
The care of heaven thy Hector has appear'd, 
j\or shall he lie unwept and uwinterr'd; 



5<>4 HOMERS ILIAD. 

Soon may thy aged cheeks in tears be di own'd, 

And all the eyes of Ilion stream around. » 

He said, and rising, chose the victim-ewe 
With silver fleece, which his attendants slew. 
The limbs they sever from the reeking hide, 
With skill prepare them , and in parts divide ; 
Each on the coals the separate morsels lays, 
And, hasty, snatches from the rising blaze. 
With bread the glittering canisters they load, 
Which round the board Automedon bestow'd : 
The chief himself to each his portion plac'd, 
And each indulging shar'd in sweet repast. 
When now the rage of hunger was represt, 
The wondering hero eyes his royal guest; 
No less the royal guest the hero eyes, 
His godlike aspect and majestic size : 
Here, youthful grace and noble fire engage; 
And there, the mild benevolence of age. 
Thus gazing long, the silence neither broke, 
A solemn scene ! at length the father spoke ; 

« Permit me now, belov'd of Jove! to steep 
My careful temples in the dew of sleep ; 
For since the day that number'd with the dead 
My hapless son, the dust has been my bed ; 
Soft sleep a stranger to my weeping eyes; 
Mj only food, my sorrows and my sighs ! 
Till now, encourag'd by the grace you give, 
I share thy banquet, and consent to Jive. » 

With that, Achilles bade prepare the bed, 
With purple soft, and shaggy carpets spread; 
Forth, by the flaming lights, they bend their way, 
And place the couches, and the coverings lay. 
Then he : « J\ow, father, sleep, but sleep not here; 
Consult thy safety, and forgive my fear, 
Least any Argive, at this hour awake , 
To ask our counsel, or our orders take, 
Approaching sudden to our open'd tent, 
Perchance behold thee, and our grace prevent. 
Should such report thy honour'd person here, 
The king of men the ransom might defer. 
But say, with speed, if aught of thy desire 
Remains unask'd; what time the rites require 



BOOR xxiv. 5o5 

T' inter thy Hector? For, so long we stay 
Our slaughtering arm, and bid the hosts obey. » 

« If then thy will permit ( the monarch said ) 
To finish all due honours to the dead, 
This, of thy grace accord : to thee are known 
The fears of I lion, clos'd within her town, 
Aud at what distance from our walls aspire 
The hills of Ide, and forests for the fire. 
Nine days to vent our sorrows I request ; 
The tenth shall see the funeral aud the feast, 
The next, to rise his monument be given. 
The twelfth we war, if war be doom'd by heaven! » 

« This thy request (reply'd the chief) enjoy *. 
Till then, our arms suspend the fall of Troy. » 

Then gave his hand at parting, to prevent 
The old man's fears, and turn'd within the tent : 
Where fair Bryseis, bright in blooming charms, 
Expects her hero with desiring arms, 
But in the porch the king and herald rest, 
Sad dreams of care yet wandering in their breast. 
Now gods and men the gifts of sleep partake. 
Industrious Hermes only was awake , 
The king's return revolving in his mipd, 
* To pass the ramparts,' and the watch to blind. 
The power descending hover'd o'er his head : 
« And sleep'st thou , father ! ( thus the vision said) 
Now dust thou sleep, when Hector is restor'd! 
Nor fear the Grecian foes, nor Grecian lord! 
Thy presence here should stern Atrides see, 
Thy still-surviving sons may sue for thee, 
May offer all thy treasures yet contain, 
To spare thy age ; and offer them in vain. » 

WakM with the word, the trembling sire arose, 
And rais'd his friend : the god before Imu goe^ : 
He joins the mules, directs them with his hand, 
And moves iu silence thro' the hostile I 
When now to Xanthus' yellow stream they drove, 
Xautinis , immortal progeny of Jove , 
The winged deity forsook their view, 
And in a moment to Oiympus flew. 
Now shed Aurora round her sa.rou ray, 
Sprung thro' the gates of light, and gave the day : 

22 



5o6 homer's ILIAD. 

Charg'd with their mournful load, to Ilion go 
The sage and king, majestically slow. 
Cassandra first beholds, from Uion's spire, 
The sad procession of her hoary sire ; 
Then, as the pensive pomp advanc'd more near, 
Her breathless brother stretch'd upon the hier , 
A shower of tears o'erflow s her heauteous eyes, 
Alarming thus aJl Ilion with her cries : 

« Turn here your steps, and here your eyes employ, 
Ye wretched daughters, and ye sons of Tro} ; 
If e'er ye rush'd in crowds, with vast delight, 
To hail your hero glorious from the fight, 
Now meet him dead, and let your sorrows flow! 
Your common triumph, and your common woe ! » 

In thronging crowds they issue to the plains, 
Nor man, nor woman, in the walls remains: 
In every face the self-same grief is shown, 
And Troy sends forth one universal groan* 
AtScaea'fl gates they meet the mourning wain, 
Hang on the wheels, and grovel round the slain. 
The wife and mother, frantic with despair, 
Kiss his pale cheek, and rend their scattered hair : 
Thus wildly wailing, at the gates they lay, 
And there had sigh'd and sorrowM out the day; 
JBut godlike Priam from the chariot rose : 
« Forhear ( he cry'd ) this violence of woes ; 
First to the palace let the car proceed, 
Then pour your boundless sorrows o'er the dead. » 

The waves of people at his word divide, 
Slow rolls the chariot thro' the following tide ; 
Ev'n to the palace the sad pomp they wait ; 
They weep, and place him on the bed of state. 
A melancholy choir attend around, 
With plaintive sighs, and music's solemn sound : 
Alternately they sing, alternate flow 
Th' obedient tears, melodious in their woe. 
While deeper sorrows groan from each full heart, 
And nature speaks at every pause of art. 

First to the corpse the weeping consort flew; 
Around his neck her milk-white arms she threw, 
And : « Oh my Hector! oh my lord! (she cries) 
Snatch'd in thy bloom from these desiring eyes ! 



BOOK XXIV. 5o7 

Thou to the dismal realms for ever gone I 
And 3 abandon'd, desolate, alone! 
An only son, once comfort of our pains, 
Sad product now of hapless love, remains! 
Never to manly age that son shall rise, 
Or with increasing graces glad my eyes *, 
For liion now, her great defender slain, 
Shall sink, a smoking ruin on the plain. 
"Who now protects her wives with guardian care? 
Who saves hei infants from the rage of war? 
Now hostile fleets must waft those infants o'er 
(Those wives must wait them) to a foreign shore ! 
Thou too, my son ! to barbarous climes shalt go, 
The sad companion of thy mother's woe j 
Driven hence a slave before the victor's sword, 
Coiidemn'd to toil for some inhuman lord. 
Or else some Greek , whose father prest the plain, 
Or son, or brother, by great Hector slain, 
In Hector's blood his vengeance shall enjoy, 
And hurl thee headlong from the towers of Troy. 
For thy stern father never spar'd a foe : 
Thence all these tears, and all this scene of woe ! 
Thence, many evils his sad parents bore, 
His parents many, but his consort more. 
Why gav'st thou not to me thy dying hand? 
And why receiv'd not I thy last command l . 
Some word thou would'st have spoke, which, sadly dezr, 
My soul might keep, or utter with a tear; 
Which never, never, could be lost in air, 
Fix'd in my heart, and oft repeated there! » 

Thus to her weeping maids she makes her moair, 
Her weeping handmaids echo groan for groan. 

The mournful mother next sustains her part: 
« O thou, the best, the dearest to my heart ! 
Of all my race thou most by heaven approv'd, 
And by th' immortals ev'n in death belov'd! 
While all my other sous in barbarous bauds 
Achilles bound, and sold to foreign lands, 
This felt no chains, but went a glorious ghost, 
Free, and a hero, to the Stygian coast. 
Senteuc'd, 'tis true, by his inhuman doom, 
Thy noble corpse was dragg'd around the tomb. 



5o8 HOMER'S ILIAD. 

The tomb of him thy warlike arm had slain 
Ungenerous insult, impotent and vain ! 
Yet glow*st thou fresh with every living grace, 
Ko mark of pain, or violence of face; 
Ptosy and fair, as Phoebus' Silver bow 
Dismiss'd thee gently to the shades below. » 

Thus spoke the dame, and melted into tears. 
Sad Helen next in pomp of grief appears : 
Fast from the shining sluices of her e} es 
Fall the round crystal drops, while thus she cries : 

« Ah ! dearest friend ! in whom the gods had joinM 
The mildest manners with the bravest mind; 
I\ow twice ten )cars, unhappy years! are o'er, 
Since Paris brought me to the Trojan shore. 
O had T perish'. 1, ere that form divine 
Seduc'd this soft, this easy heait of mine! 
Yet was it ne'er my fate, from thee to find 
A deed ungentle, or a word unkind : 
When others curst the authoress of their woe, 
Thy pity check'd my sorrows in their flow ; 
If some proud brother ey'd me wilh disdain, 
Or scornful sister with her sweeping train, 
Thy gentle accents soften'd all my pain. 
For thee I mourn ; and mourn myself in thee, 
The wretched source of all this misery ! 
The fate I caus'd, for ever I bemoan ; 
Sad Helen has no friend now thou art gone ! 
Thro' Troy's wide streets abandon'd shall I roam ! 
In Troy deserted, as abhorr'd at home ! » 

So spoke the fair, with sorrow-streaming eye : 
Distressful beauty melts each stander-by ; 
On all around th' infectious sorrow T grows ; 
But Priam check'd the torrent as it rose. 
« Perform, ye Trojans! what the rites require, 
And fell the forests for a funeral pyre ; 
Twelve days, nor foe, nor secret ambush dread j 
Achilles grants these honours to the dead. » 

He spoke; and, at his word, the Trojan train 
Their mules and oxen harness to the wain, 
Pour thro' the gates, and, fell'd from Ida's crown, 
Roll back the gather'd forests to the town. 



book xxiv. 509 

These toils continue nine succeeding days, 
And high in air a sylvan structure rai?e. 
But when (he tenth fair morn hegan to shine, 
Forth to the pile was borne the man divine, 
And plac'd aloft, while all, with streaming eyes } 
Beheld the flames and rolling smokes arise. 
Soon as Aurora, daughter of the dawn, 
"With rosy lustre streak'd the dewy lawn, 
Again the mournful crowds surround the pyre, 
And quench with wine the yet remaining fire; 
The snowy hones his friends and brothers place, 
With tears collected, in a golden vase ; 
The golden vase in purple palls they roll'd, 
Of softest texture, and inwrought with gold. 
Last o'er the urn the sacred earth they spread, 
And rais'd the tomb, memorial of the dead. 
Strong guards and spies, I ill all the rites were done, 
Watch'd from the rising to the setting sun : 
All Troy then moves to Priam's court again, 
A solemn, silent, melancholy train : 
Assembled there, from pious toils they rest, 
And sadly shar'dthe last sepulchral feast. 
Such honours Iiiou to her hero paid, 
And peaceful slept the mighty Hector's shade. 



THE END OF THE ILIAD. 



ERRATA. 



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